Has O’Driscoll turned the corner?

FOR Ireland’s World Cup dream to advance beyond next week, the side needs to have Brian O’Driscoll in full bloom.

The man they call “God” in Leinster may not be ready for deification just yet but there were moments on Saturday when he looked a class apart.

There was one thundering tackle in the first half that had even Australians - who love the front-up, He-Man stuff - screaming in admiration. Then there was the manner in which he took his try and the drop goal that left only a point between the sides and set up the exciting final five minutes.

There was more, lots more, enough indeed to draw a compliment from the usually taciturn Aussie coach Eddie Jones: “It was a pretty good effort. We said all week that he’s only one touch away from being back to his best. He’s a brilliant footballer and that showed in how he was able to score in that small area.”

Considering O’Driscoll’s reputation worldwide and his failure to reach the anticipated heights in recent matches, I asked him if he felt under pressure going into the game. He dismissed the suggestion by claiming: “I’ve been happy with my performances to date.

"Sure, I hadn’t been making my breaks and scoring tries like everyone seems to expect, but you still have to grind out the job of a centre, hitting my rucks and making my tackles and kicking to the corners.

“I thought I was doing that part of my game fine. It was just a matter of opportunities opening up for me that weren’t there in the first three games. Space was again very much at a premium and I managed to sneak in for a score in the corner but you’re not going to get too much leeway against the Aussies.

“I knew I had it down before I was pushed into touch,” he insisted. “I think a lot of the boys were Doubting Thomases. I suppose they were remembering the try against France a few years ago. There were a lot of similarities.

“It was a great piece of skill by John Kelly. Great hands. I wasn’t expecting to get it. I thought he was going to take it into contact and I think he perplexed Wendell and almost me but thankfully it was a nice seven pointer.

“On the one hand, it was great to get within a point of Australia but it was also a chance lost of beating them.

"We’re coming closer and closer and if we can continue to being within a score or two of the world’s best every time we play, it shows we’re improving and some time we’re going to pick them off. I’m proud of our performance but disappointed at the result,” he said.