Point to prove

Brian O’Driscoll wants to get over the disappointment of Ireland’s RWC campaign. The best way to do that? Lead Leinster to Heineken Cup glory. Brendan O’Brien spoke with the national skipper.

PORTENTS of doom have enveloped Irish rugby like a fog since the national team’s World Cup meltdown and, for those of a superstitious bent, the location for last Monday’s Heineken Cup launch offered little in the way of comfort.

Twenty yards away from the ERC’s HQ on Stephen’s Green there lies a cemetery — a French one, no less, of Huguenot origin — and the mood among the sport’s followers here will be equally grave if our worst fears are realised in this year’s European showpiece.