Irish captain declines invite

IRELAND rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll will not be at the British royal wedding despite initially accepting an invitation for him and his actress wife.

He was later forced to decline in order to prepare with his Leinster teammates for a Heineken Cup semi-final clash against Toulouse.

His wife Amy Huberman will attend the ceremony in London alone.

The couple originally accepted the invitation, saying both could attend Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nuptials.

But O’Driscoll then said his presence at the wedding depended on his team’s progress in the Heineken Cup. Leinster play French giants Toulouse in Dublin on Saturday.

“Rugby takes precedence over everything,” he previously said.

It is understood Prince William became friendly with O’Driscoll when he captained the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005.

A spokeswoman for O’Driscoll said that while he could not be at the wedding, the couple had to confirm that his wife could go alone.

“He can’t go because he has got the match but both names were on the invite so Amy is going to go by herself,” she said.

“She will come back to Ireland on Saturday morning to go to the match in the Aviva Stadium.”

Ms Huberman is now choosing an outfit by an Irish designer to wear to the wedding.