Finding Brian O’Driscoll tries was easy; narrowing it down to just six of the best was the hard part.
The great man may well add to his tally before he hangs up his boots, but even if he doesn’t, 46 tries for Ireland, 61 for Leinster and nine for the Lions isn’t a bad haul at all.
Although he became pretty adept at scoring crucial one-yard tries in the latter stages of his career – particularly during the Grand Slam season – quite a lot of his touchdowns were brilliant to watch and showcased the qualities that made O’Driscoll the greatest player this country has ever seen.
Here are six of the best.
Ireland v France, 2000
O’Driscoll saved the best ’til last when scoring THAT hat-trick against France in Paris in 2000, picking up a loose Peter Stringer pass without breaking stride and gliding past the French cover to seal one of Ireland’s most historic victories of the Six Nations era.
Lions v Australia, 2001
Everyone in the northern hemisphere knew what O’Driscoll was capable of before the Lions Tour in 2001; everyone in the southern hemisphere knew what he was capable of after it thanks to a series of scintillating displays Down Under, capped by an amazing break from the halfway line to touch down under the posts in the first test in Brisbane.
Leinster v Wasps, 2008
Kicking hasn’t always been BOD’s greatest strength, but he put boot to ball to good effect not once but twice in quick succession against Wasps at Lansdowne Road in 2008 before gathering the ball and touching it down in the corner.
Ireland v France, 2009
Time and again O’Driscoll was the go-to man during Ireland’s Grand Slam season and of all the tries he scored during the campaign, his effort against France at Croke Park was probably the best as he got on the end of a pre-planned and well-executed lineout move before showing a brilliant step to change direction, wrong-foot the French defence and get in for a vital five points.
Leinster v Munster, 2009
Drico had his old mate ROG to thank for putting a try on a plate during the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park but having shown great anticipation to intercept O’Gara’s pass, he still had a long way to run before rubbing salt into Munster’s wounds with a try under the posts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cLncun7wuE
Ireland v New Zealand, 2010
As he did against France in 2000, O’Driscoll showed remarkable skill to pick up the ball from his boot laces without having to break stride before touching down in the corner against the All-Blacks on a day that, the try apart, O’Driscoll and Irish fans would rather forget.
Samsung are Leinster’s Official Technology Partner and the three-time Heineken Cup champions use Samsung technology to display training analysis, performance analysis, as well as medical and fitness data.
