BOD puts all thoughts of an ‘afterlife’ aside

And now, the end is near. A year on from the interminable ‘will-he-won’t-he retire’ narrative that permeated Brian O’Driscoll’s Six Nations — and the entire season — we know for sure that the great man won’t be back this way again.

Yesterday was about putting one distraction aside before his last stint in green.

The Warren Gatland question — or 10 of them — was put to bed with a UN-like diplomacy. Other invitations to reminisce were humoured with good grace.