Brian O'Driscoll equalled George Gregan's record as the world's most capped rugby player at the weekend, so there's no better time to cast our minds back on why he's been and remains such a legend.
Given the fact that he just so happens to be one of the greatest to ever play the game and is on the verge of becoming the world's most capped player, it is obvious that Brian O'Driscoll would be a valued addition to any squad, even if your team was made up of undead zombies battling a bunch of mutant plants. He'd slot in well alongside All-Star in
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, the latest shoot-em-up from EA with a difference. Both of them are hard-working, and they share that special spark that can make the difference when things are tight.
We decided to cast our eye back on the life and times of the big man, and figured that with the fact that we're not going to be seeing him turn out in a green jersey too many more times, we know that we're going to miss the sight of an all-round rugby hero for Ireland who has always put his body, and specifically his head, on the line for the cause.
Just like All-Star in
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, he's the first man on the field and the last man off it, and as a result, he’s scored some of the greatest tries in living memory, and dominated more games than it would be possible to list both for Leinster and for Ireland, as the player who turned the tide a lot of the time due to some brilliance with the ball in his hands.
It's not just the flashy stuff that O'Driscoll does well either; he puts his body on the line, makes huge tackles, and most importantly gets through the tackle count, making sure that the opposition doesn't have a chance to get a move going and break through the gain line. He hits as if there were no tomorrow, and as we saw against Wales a few weeks back, even if you try to take him out, you'll end up worse off as a result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69zRGsI0Yzg
A lot of what he does in a game can go unseen, especially as he has matured as a player, but his understanding of the game has brought him to the level of some of the all-time greats, which he has been rewarded for. His medal cabinet must be already be overflowing, but we must admit that we'd love to see him add a few more to it before the end of the season, and in particular before the end of this Six Nations campaign.
Being a bit of a legend, O’Driscoll has all our respect, and in particular for his unique and interesting sense of humour. One of the most famous instances of his ability to get a crowd laughing has to be the time he spoke about tomatoes, fruit salads and wisdom, which became an instant classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLd-Vi8qZA
If you fancy winning yourself an Xbox One with a copy of the brilliant
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare so you can test out who is better, All-Star or BOD, then all you have to do is head over
here and complete our quiz, and you can even find out along the way whether you're a plant, or like Brian O'Driscoll, a hard-hitting tough-tackling zombie.
And don't forget that
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare comes exclusively first to Xbox One and Xbox 360 on February 28th, 2014.
