O’Driscoll dreaming of South Africa as Lions tour looms

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL is relishing the prospect of playing for the Lions in SA in eight months’ time despite his nightmare experience as captain in New Zealand.

The Lions suffered a deflating 3-0 series defeat to the All Blacks in 2005 and O’Driscoll’s tour was infamously ended by a shoulder injury just seconds into the first Test.

But the sour taste left by that incident has long since faded and, energised by Leinster’s Heineken Cup win over Edinburgh on Saturday and Ireland’s autumn itinerary of matches, O’Driscoll is looking forward to another Lions tour. “The players and the fans are fully aware already that this is a Lions season,” he said.

“There’s a heck of a lot of rugby to be played before then and as a player you are almost afraid to think too much about it, as so much can happen in that period.

“You need to be in form going into the Six Nations and the final rounds of the Heineken Cup before you are in with a real chance of selection.

“To me, the Lions is the carrot dangling at the end of the season.”

O’Driscoll scored a sublime try in yesterday’s Pool Two victory for Leinster at Murrayfield and set up another for Felipe Contepomi during an eye-catching display.

His hard hits, jinking runs and clever passes helped Leinster overcome Edinburgh and while O’Driscoll may have lost some of his top-end speed, he remains one of the best midfielders in world rugby.

Turning 30 in January, the Dubliner is well aware he is in the final years of his career and being part of a winning Lions tour is a major ambition.

“I have been fortunate enough to play on two tours now. We should have won in Australia in 2001, and then the New Zealand tour for me was over before it started and we lost miserably.

“The Lions creates such excitement amongst players and fans across all of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

“You forget the enormity of it until the Lions season starts. It’s the rareness of the event that makes it such a huge spectacle.”

Ian McGeechan was announced as the 2009 Lions head coach last May and O’Driscoll is delighted the Scot is on board. “He seems to have the ability to bring great camaraderie and bond teams in such a short time which is half the battle with a Lions tour,” he said.

“And he has already had success with the Lions, especially on the last tour to South Africa in 1997.”

O’Driscoll believes the 2009 series could be a classic.

“The Springboks are under huge pressure of their own to win. There is no way they will concede another loss to the Lions without a fight.

“Next summer offers players a great chance to make a little bit of history.”

O’Driscoll is an HSBC ambassador and with his former Lions team-mate Jason Robinson, he launched the Irish element of the world’s largest rugby union grass-roots initiative, the HSBC Rugby Festivals, yesterday in Dublin.