A feelgood finale as brightest Irish star of them all ticks final box

Goodbyes can be painful, as we all know, but when Brian O’Driscoll’s romance with Test rugby finally came to an end in Paris, parting proved such sweet sorrow.

It was 10 months ago that Ireland’s greatest rugby player had decided to delay retirement and give it one more season. He had heard the incessant chants of “One More Year” from the RDS and Aviva Stadium stands, glanced at an autumn fixture list that included one last tilt at New Zealand and seen the chance to atone for a desperately disappointing 2013 Six Nations.

That and the promotion of Joe Schmidt from Leinster to Ireland coach provided all the incentive to push his battered body through a final campaign.