Fall of Rome key as future starts now

RBS 6 Nations: Ireland v Italy

With Brian O’Driscoll set to make a decision on whether to sign a new contract and play one more year of top-flight rugby, how his Ireland team-mates perform around him today against Italy at a packed and passionate Stadio Olimpico could help sway the iconic outside centre’s feelings in either direction.

O’Driscoll’s battered body will be the primary decision maker, of course, but as he begins a Six Nations match for the 60th time in his career, a team effort to lift the spirits this afternoon and put to bed the disappointments of another frustrating championship campaign could be enough to persuade him there is something worth sticking around for into 2014.