Lions captaincy not on my mind, insists O’Driscoll

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL hasn’t given a second thought to the possibility of leading his second Lions tour to South Africa later this year.

Yesterday, after confirmation he will captain Ireland through another RBS Six Nations Championship campaign with the prospect of stretching his run as captain to 56 games, O’Driscoll insisted his only focus was helping his country enjoy a productive season.

“It (Lions selection) is not in my hands,” insisted O’Driscoll. “There hasn’t been any contact or anything from the Lions, so it’s something I’m not going to concern myself about. I’ll just continue on with Ireland, try to get us playing well as a team and whatever happens, happens.”

The announcement that O’Driscoll was to continue in the role ended weeks of speculation he was about to step down and be replaced by Paul O’Connell. But Irish coach Declan Kidney admitted he was delighted to have the flying centre continue. Kidney endorsed the re-appointment by saying: “I suppose the captaincy, in a sense, is not just all about one person; we’re lucky in Ireland that there are strong people around the squad.”

“When John Smit was captain of South Africa in the World Cup, Victor Matfield was captain of the Bulls, Martin Johnson had Laurence Dallaglio and Phil Vickery around in his time. Only one guy can be captain and the important thing is that Brian has an appetite for doing it and that’s why we talked it out, giving him space over the last few weeks to get himself up and going.”

There was no conflict with O’Connell, who stressed that he was proud to play for Ireland and to work with O’Driscoll.

“It wasn’t an issue for me, I’ve been performing a role in the team for the last few years, it’s something I enjoy and I didn’t expect there to be any change.”

With 51 outings as captain in an international career that has yielded 88 caps, O’Driscoll said he was proud. “It was nice to be offered and difficult to turn down, but it is very much a case of working well with guys around you; there’s only one person named as captain but lots of decisions have to be made on the pitch by others and it’s great to have the likes of Paulie (O’Connell), Rog (Ronan O’Gara) and Rory Best around because they’ve all captained their provinces and other teams,” he said.

Right now, O’Driscoll has France in his sights. “The Six Nations is the focus and the French game is first up so that’s the focus. We will deal with that first and when that’s done we will set about dealing with the next one. It’s about creating momentum; I probably say the same things every year, but it’s the truth.

“You try to make yourself very competitive in the first game — and maybe we feel we owe a little something to France for a couple of years ago — and just hope for the best, make sure that you’re in there or thereabouts with 10 minutes to go. At this level, you’ve got to put yourself in positions to win games — that’s the big issue now.

Meanwhile, Ireland look set to meet World Champions South Africa twice next Autumn, once in Hong Kong and once in Dublin. Following discussions last year as to possibly holding a game between the two countries in Dubai, Ireland has almost reached agreement to play the Springboks in Hong Kong in the first week of November.

The discussions continue, but Irish team manager Paul McNaughton yesterday confirmed it was virtually a done deal, with Hong Kong the favoured venue following the successful staging of a Bledisloe Cup match between New Zealand and Australia last November.

Ireland could thus meet South Africa twice within a month because the teams are already due to play in Croke Park at the end of that month, following further home fixtures against Australia and Fiji — the Fiji game being played in the RDS.

Ireland, minus the Lions representatives, will also embark on a summer tour with full Tests against the USA and Canada fixed for May 23 and 31, after which a Churchill Cup squad will also be announced led by the senior coaches, rather than A team coaches Michael Bradley and Niall O’Donovan, who previously led Irish teams in the competition.

The tournament was originally fixed for the USA and Canada but may now be moved to Britain, with the possibility of one match being played in Ireland.