The world’s our oyster

NOT for the first time in his career, Brian O’Driscoll found himself prostrate on the deck in the heat of battle at Croke Park on Saturday, having smashed yet another Springbok ball carrier with utter disregard for his own well being.

On the previous occasion, it signalled his departure from the Lions tour as the series was lost in Pretoria. On this occasion, once he regained control of his faculties, it was a happier ending. His last ditch tackle on full back Zane Kirchner denied South Africa the opportunity to salvage something from what has been a horrid tour for them. For O’Driscoll and his men, Saturday’s 15-10 win signalled the perfect end to the perfect year – Ireland unbeaten in 2009.

The question now, though, is where do Ireland go from here? What does 2010 hold for this group of players and management? Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson famously stated after finally ending a 31-year wait for the European Cup in 1999 that he enjoyed the night itself, but the morning after was all about how to retain the trophy. One of his players blithely declared in the aftermath that he didn’t care if he never won again. It showed the following season. In sport, ambition is everything.