A game of two halves and one legend

Wales 22 Ireland 30

The Welsh journalist who made the inquiry knows a trick or two about eliciting a response from an interviewee and in that eve-of-match press conference, he wondered whether O’Driscoll’s “advancing years” and suggestion this might be his final Six Nations, combined with a lack of game time following injury and the recent loss of his captaincy made his return to the green number 13 jersey he has made his own for a decade a less-than-automatic choice.

The Ireland coach, taking the question at face value, fixed his gaze on the inquisitor and issued an emphatic: “Not Brian, no.”