O’Driscoll ‘honoured’ by player of the championship award

THE accolades continue to accumulate for Ireland’s Grand Slam-winning captain Brian O’Driscoll, who was yesterday named as the RBS Six Nations Player of the Championship for the third time.

The award, voted for by the public, puts the icing on the cake for O’Driscoll on a week where rugby luminaries such as Jack Kyle, Gavin Hastings — and yesterday, Jason Robinson — have tipped him to captain the British and Irish Lions in South Africa this summer.

O’Driscoll secured 30% of the 24,000 online votes, seeing off Italy’s talismanic number eight Sergio Parisse (27.9%) into second. Ireland’s second row colossus Paul O’Connell — another fancied to lead the Lions — came third.