Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played his entire career at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
O'Driscoll is the sixth most-capped player in rugby union history, having played 141 test matches: 133 for Ireland (83 as captain), and 8 for the Lions.Irish Rugby: Ireland – Profile: Brian O'Driscoll ; retrieved 21 March 2011Brian O'Driscoll: Rugby Union Profile ESPN Scrum Retrieved 21 March 2011 With 46 tries for Ireland and 1 try for the Lions in 2001, he is Ireland's highest-ever try scorer; additionally, he is the 10th-highest try scorer in international rugby union history and the highest-scoring centre of all time. He also holds the record for the most Six Nations tries with 26.O'Driscoll sets all-time try record Sydney Morning Herald; retrieved 21 March 2011O'Driscoll the great has Irish believing in BOD The Independent; retrieved 21 March 2011 O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Six Nations Championships.
He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame on 17 November 2016 at the opening ceremony of its first location in Rugby, England. Since retirement, he has worked as a pundit and analyst for BT Sport and ITV Sport and ventured into business start-ups, including the Ultimate Rugby mobile app and Zipp, an Irish e-scooter business. O'Driscoll was involved in Irish Rugby's unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 World Cup.
Early life O'Driscoll was born and bred in Clontarf in the northside of Dublin to Frank and Geraldine O'Driscoll, both physicians. He had barely played rugby until he went to the rugby nursery Blackrock College, from the age of 12. O'Driscoll's family was steeped in rugby. His father, Frank, played two games for Ireland and a cousin of his father, Barry, won four caps. Another cousin of Frank's, Barry's brother John, represented Ireland 26 times and was a member of the Lions teams that toured South Africa in 1980 and New Zealand in 1983.
As a child, O'Driscoll played Gaelic football before switching to rugby. For his secondary education, he attended Blackrock College, where he played in the Leinster Senior Cup team in 1996 and 1997.
Although O'Driscoll started the first two rounds of the competition in 1996, he was subsequently dropped to the bench for the remainder of the competition, and was an unused replacement in the team's victorious final appearance. In 1997 they were beaten in the quarter-final by Clongowes. He was capped three times for Ireland Schools in 1996.
In 1998, O'Driscoll played for the Ireland U-19 side, which won the Under 19 Rugby World Championship.
After leaving school, he attended University College Dublin (UCD) on a scholarship and graduated with a Diploma in Sports Management in 1998.
While at UCD, he first made the under-20 side, before being promoted to the top team near the end of his first year. O'Driscoll made his Ireland under-21 debut in February 1999, and eventually gained four caps.
In 2009, he received the UCD Foundation Day Medal for his sporting achievements.
Leinster O'Driscoll made his debut for Leinster in 1999, and under head coach Matt Williams and backs coach Alan Gaffney he became an explosive force in the Leinster backline, forming a highly effective centre partnership with Shane Horgan. In 2001, Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League beating Munster in Lansdowne Road. In 2003, Leinster were heavy favourites for that year's Heineken Cup but were beaten by Perpignan in the semi-finals.
Leinster appointed Michael Cheika in the summer of 2005 and despite rumours of O'Driscoll moving to France, O'Driscoll agreed to another year in Ireland. That year, O'Driscoll returning from a shoulder injury suffered on the Lions tour, would assume the captaincy for the season. Under backs coach David Knox and the movement of Argentine international Felipe Contepomi to fly half, the Leinster backline became one of the most potent in Europe.Munster v Leinster: Match Preview RTÉ Sport; retrieved 24 March 2011
O'Driscoll excelled in wins over Bath Rugby and Toulouse away from home. These victories would set up a Heineken Cup semi-final in Lansdowne Road against Munster, but defeat against the eventual champions Munster would deny O'Driscoll and his team a final berth. Leinster were also denied a Magners League title, with David Humphreys of Ulster slotting an injury-time drop goal to give victory to Ulster in their final game of the season.
In 2007, Wasps beat Leinster in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. In 2008, Leinster lost in the group stages. In 2007, Leinster reached the final hurdle of the Magners league only to be denied by the Ospreys and Cardiff. In 2008, Leinster won that title ahead of Munster, marking O'Driscoll's second honour with the province, his first and only as captain.
The 2008–09 season marked a shift in focus for O'Driscoll. While retaining the Irish captaincy under new coach Declan Kidney, he handed the honour of Leinster captain to Leo Cullen. O'Driscoll scored two tries in the defeat of English champions London Wasps, however, this victory was followed by away defeats for Leinster to both London Wasps and Castres. Leinster advanced to the quarter-finals to face Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop. When O'Driscoll was absent through injury in April 2009, Leinster relinquished their Magners League crown to Munster at Thomond Park. Against Harlequins, Leinster scored a 6–5 victory, the game infamous for the Bloodgate incident.
In the semi-final against rivals Munster in Croke Park, an 82,206 sell-out, O'Driscoll was awarded the man of the match award (which he later dedicated to the entire team) after an intercept try completed a convincing win for Leinster and sent O'Driscoll to his first Heineken Cup final. Leinster captured the Heineken Cup against Leicester Tigers on 23 May 2009. The 19–16 Heineken Cup victory included a drop goal from O'Driscoll who was suffering from a shoulder injury.
In the 2010–11 season, O'Driscoll won his second Heineken Cup with Leinster. Having suffered a knee injury in a Magners League game one week before the final, O'Driscoll was a major doubt, but he recovered sufficiently and was named in the starting XV. In the final held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 21 May 2011, Leinster came from behind to defeat Northampton 33–22.Northampton's recovery overturned as Leinster herald age of the Irish The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2011
In the 2012 Heineken Cup Final O'Driscoll won his third Heineken Cup with Leinster. They beat Ulster 42–14 in an entertaining battle. Seán O'Brien opened the scoring for Leinster to put them ahead 7–3. At halftime, the score was 14–6, with Cian Healy scoring the second try for Leinster but there was still a lot to play for. A penalty try was then awarded for Leinster but Ulster pulled a try back from second-row Dan Tuohy. Heinke van der Merwe then settled the game with a try for Leinster and Seán Cronin made sure of Leinster's success.
O'Driscoll said in September 2013, that the 2013–14 season would be his last before retiring.
His final appearance for Leinster, and for any team, was in the 2014 Pro12 Grand Final on 31 May in Leinster's home ground, the RDS in Dublin, in which Leinster defeated the Glasgow Warriors 34–12. He left the field injured early in the first half to be replaced by Ian Madigan. His final act as a rugby player was assisting club captain Leo Cullen – who also finished his career on this day – in lifting the Pro12 trophy
International career
Ireland
In 1999, O'Driscoll was selected for the senior squad and was on the bench for a match against Italy, although he did not play. He won his first Test cap at age 20 on 12 June 1999 in a 46–10 loss to Australia in Brisbane as part of the tour of Australia. O'Driscoll played for Ireland before he played for the senior Leinster team.
In 2000, O'Driscoll scored a Hat-trick of tries in a Six Nations Championship victory against France in Paris, propelling Ireland to their first win in Paris since 1972.
O'Driscoll's popularity in Ireland was expressed by supporters wearing T-shirts bearing the motto "In BOD We Trust". In 2002, O'Driscoll was handed the captaincy for the first time in Ireland's 18–9 win over Australia, the first Irish victory over the Wallabies since 1979. In 2003, following the international retirement of long-time Ireland captain Keith Wood, O'Driscoll was awarded the captaincy on a permanent basis. In that year, O'Driscoll led Ireland to second place in the Six Nations Championship. This was followed by Triple Crowns in 2004 (Ireland's first crown since 1985), 2006 and 2007. In 2004, O'Driscoll captained Ireland to a 17–12 victory over South Africa, the first Irish win over the Springboks since 1965.
In 2009, O'Driscoll was again selected as captain, leading Ireland to win the Triple Crown, Six Nations Championship and their first Grand Slam in 61 years."Proud Brian O'Driscoll relishes dramatic finish to Ireland's Grand Slam" The Daily Telegraph; retrieved 24 March 2011Finally, after 61 years of pain, let the party start The Guardian; retrieved 24 March 2011. He scored a try in every match except one, culminating in a 17–15 victory in Cardiff in which O'Driscoll again scored a try and was the RBS man of the match. On 27 March 2009, he was named as player of the 2009 Six Nations Championship, winning the fans' online poll. In May 2009, he was named the Bord Gáis Energy IRUPA Players' Player of the Year for the past season.
On 15 November 2009, in a 20–20 draw against Australia at Croke Park, O'Driscoll scored a last minute try. The next day, he was named as one of the seven nominations for the 2009 International Rugby Board player of the year, but controversially missed out to Richie McCaw for this title by a solitary point.
O'Driscoll started for and captained Ireland for every match during the 2010 Six Nations Championship. He picked up his 100th test cap for Ireland against Wales. He scored his 40th test try against New Zealand on 12 June 2010. He started every match for Ireland in the 2010 Autumn Tests. He played for Ireland in the last four World Cups (17 caps, 7 tries).Player Analysis: Brian O'Driscoll, caps in World Cups, ESPN Scrum, Retrieved 5 December 2012. He became Ireland's most capped player on 26 June 2010 against Australia, winning his 103rd cap.
In the 2011 Six Nations Championship, O'Driscoll's 47th-minute try against England, took him past Ian Smith's 78-year-old record of 24 tries to become the leading Championship try scorer of all time with 25 Tries. The same day, O'Driscoll tied John Smit's International Captaincy caps record of 75.
O'Driscoll was ruled out of the entire 2012 Six Nations after undergoing shoulder surgery. In his absence, Keith Earls was chosen to partner inside centre Gordon D'Arcy, starting four of the five championship games in the position usually occupied by O'Driscoll.
He returned as captain for the tour of New Zealand in 2012 and he also equalled John Smit's record as captaining an international side (83 times) but All Black Captain Richie McCaw tied the O'Driscoll/Smit record during the 2013 Rugby Championship against South Africa and McCaw overtook the record when playing in Japan on 2 November 2013. O'Driscoll was fit to play in the 2013 tournament, but before the tournament, it was announced that O'Driscoll, who had missed the Autumn internationals earlier that season through injury, would not be reinstated as captain. Declan Kidney named O'Driscoll's Leinster teammate Jamie Heaslip as captain, in his place. O'Driscoll still started each game of the 2013 Championship for Ireland.