Munster lock O'Driscoll set to retire
Munster second row Mick O'Driscoll announced today that he will retire from rugby at the end of the current season.
The 33-year-old, who made his debut in August 1998, played his 204th competitive game against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.
One of Munster's most consistent performers, O’Driscoll has won 55 Heineken Cup caps for Munster and seven for Perpignan in the course of a two season stint with the French club.
This season he has captained the side in 10 of the 17 games he has featured in.
He skippered the side which was narrowly beaten by New Zealand in the game that officially opened Thomond Park Stadium in November 2008.
O’Driscoll is included in the extended Munster squad named this afternoon for the RaboDirect PRO12 game with Scarlets at Parc Y Scarlets on Saturday.
Forwards: M Horan, W du Preez, D Varley, M Sherry, D Fogarty, D Kilcoyne, J Ryan, BJ Botha, S Archer, M O’Driscoll, P O’Connell, D Ryan, D O’Callaghan, B Holland, T O’Donnell, P O’Mahony, P Butler.
Backs: T O’Leary, C Murray, D Williams, I Keatley, S Deasy, S Zebo, L Mafi, K Earls, I Dineen, J Murphy, L O’Dea, D Hurley, F Jones.
Unavailable for selection: J Coughlan (hand), D Wallace (knee), R O’Gara (leg), D Barnes (knee), D Foley (shoulder), I Nagle (shoulder), Dave O’Callaghan (knee), N Ronan (knee), D Leamy (hip), T Smith (knee), D Howlett (achilles), Darragh Hurley (back).