Brian O’Driscoll sounds a warning: Beware the Blacklash

Player of the Year. Coach of the Year. Team of the Year. Any scintilla of doubt as to the scale of the task Ireland face in seeking a second straight win over the world champions this Saturday was all but atomised by the string of major awards claimed by Beauden Barrett, Steve Hansen, and the All Blacks at the World Rugby Awards last weekend.

“They are licking their wounds,” said Brian O’Driscoll, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame that same night in London. “There is no doubt they are coming ready. I heard a lot from them because they picked up a lot of awards. That says a lot about their team. That wasn’t New Zealand as they saw themselves (in Chicago) 10 days ago. They want to put that right. We are going to see a different team. We are going to have to produce a better performance ourselves. There is no reason to think that we don’t have a bigger performance too.”

O’Driscoll was there in the Windy City to watch history go down. It was the first time since he began playing for Ireland 17 years ago he attended a game involving the national team in which he wasn’t involved as a player, injured, or a pundit.