Munster’s Micko to retire at end of season

Mick Galwey last night paid a glowing tribute to Munster’s Mick O’Driscoll whose retirement after 15 years as one of the country’s most consistent second-row forwards will be announced in Limerick today.

There is a remarkable symmetry between the two men. They share the same birthday, October 8,although Galwey at 45 is the older by 12 years. O’Driscoll made his Munster debut against Leinster as Galwey’s second-row partner at Dooradoyle in August 1998. And it was Galwey who made way when O’Driscoll won his first cap for Ireland as a replacement against Romania in Bucharest in 2001.

“Micko has always been a great bit of stuff,” said Galwey last night. “He was just what we needed when he came on the scene because he was a terrific lineout jumper at number four whereas I wasn’t really cut out for that job. He was only 20 or so at the time and so was very young but John Langford arrived from Australia and he learned an awful lot from him, as we all did.