In BOD we trust

Brian O Driscoll is without doubt the greatest Irish rugby player of all time. It is fair to say that he was the catalyst behind the revival of Irish rugby. Before  O Driscoll Irish rugby was known for its passion and brief highlights. We had not won a grand slam since the 40's a triple crown since the 80's everybody's second favorite team.

Two things changed this picture:

1. The advent of professionalism which suited the Irish provincial structure better than anyone else.

2 The rise of a global great. 

BOD arrived when the Irish game was discovering that it could thrive in the professional era. In a time when many parts of the rugby world were trying to decide on a structure that would help the national side and the club structure. Ireland had its provinces. They even had a development province in Connacht. How did this have a baring on the young BOD. As it was a centralised structure he was not over played and he was well rewarded. If you look at his Lions team mate Jonny Wilkinson, his body was broken by the sheer volume of rugby he played. This meant arguably he never performed as well as he could have for as long as he could of with England.

 

The environment was right but the man was a genius, not the fastest of foot but without doubt the quickest of thought. Physically he was slightly smaller but this meant that he was more difficult to put down. His tackling was immense and he was like a second openside, scavenging everything on the floor.

Without BOD Irish rugby union would have not had the confidence to win anything. Leinster would have been Munster and Ulster cannon fodder. So BOD thank you.