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14th Nov 2016

Brian O’Driscoll to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame

Conor Heneghan

A fantastic honour that’s thoroughly deserved.

Arguably the greatest player ever to pull on a green jersey, Brian O’Driscoll, is to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Rugby, England, this week.

The former Ireland, Leinster and Lions captain will be one of 12 inductees at the ceremony, alongside fellow legends of the game such as Jonny Wilkinson, Jeremy Guscott, Lawrence Dallaglio and Shane Williams.

O’Driscoll’s achievements during a tremendous playing career hardly need repeating, but just to reiterate, *pauses for breath* he scored a record 46 tries in a record 133 test appearances for Ireland, captained Ireland to only the second Grand Slam in our history in 2009, was nominated for World Player of the Year three times and toured with the Lions on four separate occasions, including once as captain in 2005 *exhales*.

Oh, and he also won three Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup and four PRO12/Celtic League titles in a 15-year career with Leinster.

RaboDirect PRO12 Final 31/5/2014 Leinster vs Glasgow Warriors Leinster’s Ian Madigan and Cian Healy carry Brian O'Driscoll after the game Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

The ceremony, which will take place on Thursday, 17 November, will celebrate the official opening of the physical visitor experience in Rugby.

All 162 members of the Hall of Fame, including the new inductees, will be celebrated and profiled within a physical experience in the birthplace of the game that will be fully-interactive, immersive and delivered in multiple languages.

The 12 new inductees are listed in full below and the full list of Hall of Famers, including Irish legends such as Jackie Kyle and Keith Wood, can be viewed here.

New World Rugby Hall of Fame Inductees (induction number and country in brackets)

Brian O’Driscoll (121, Ireland)

Shane Williams (122, Wales)

Jeremy Guscott (123, England)

Lawrence Dallaglio (124, England)

Heather Moyse (125, Canada)

John Dawes (126, Wales)

GPS Macpherson (127, Scotland)

Arthur Gould (128, Wales)

Jonny Wilkinson (129, England)

Daniel Carroll (130, Australia and USA)

Daisuke Ohata (131, Japan)

Maggie Alphonsi (132, England)