BRIAN O’DRISCOLL WOULD be forgiven if he had a quiet word in the ear of the Lions media managers and asked to be kept away from the TV cameras over the next seven days.
The centre faced questions about swansongs and finales every time he faced the cameras for Leinster and Ireland this year. He would dearly love to focus on securing his first Lions series win rather than reminiscing on his 12 years, and four tours, in red.
O’Driscoll is long way away from the player he was in 2001 when his engine purred for 80 minutes and he turned defensive chinks into wonder tries. He has evolved his game to act as an additional loose forward when needed but his tactics of resting his knees on players at the breakdown are being punished in the southern hemisphere.
The outside centre offered little in attack today and, not for the first time, settled on making his impact by delivering huge defensive hits [Adam Ashley Cooper] and making a heap of tackles [14, second only to Mako Vunipola]. When he did try to get his side going in the second half, it often left the Lions on the back foot.
He tried to replicate his delayed pass to Simon Zebo – against Wales in the Six Nations – as George North charged up the left wing and pleaded to be set free. Israel Folau intercepted and took off, beating three red jerseys in the process and moved the play from one 22 to the next. Five minutes later, Lions had an advantage but O’Driscoll chose the kick chase. A moment before it left his boot referee Craig Joubert called advantage over and the Wallabies were able to set up another pounding phase of attacks.
O’Driscoll and Ashley-Cooper fight for possession. (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
His midfield partner Jonathan Davies had a fine game but was guilty of targeting James O’Connor when Ashley Cooper was the man he should have been on. O’Driscoll was pointing at Davies to cover the Wallabies’ 13 but his failure could cost him a starting spot next week.
Gatland has demonstrated, by dropping Alex Cuthbert and Mike Phillips, that he will not allow sentiment to get in the way. Neither O’Driscoll or Davies are guaranteed a start next week. With back-up outhalf Owen Farrell able to cover the midfield off the bench, O’Driscoll would then struggle to displace Cuthbert, an unused sub today, on the replacements bench.
Jamie Roberts, if he proves his fitness midweek, would be expected to come straight back in at 12. His sheer presence in the backline would be a major distraction for the Wallaby defence. Manu Tuilagi looked impressive in his return to action against the Melbourne Rebels and could be a direct answer to Australia’s Folau when it comes to having a timebomb in the backline.
Sam Warburton’s hamstring injury would make such speculation about a premature end to O’Driscoll’s Lions career a moot point. With Paul O’Connell already ruled out and Warburton forced to watch from the sidelines, it would surely fall to the legendary 13 to get lead the Lions and expend every last ounce of energy he has for the victory. One last time.
Who should Warren Gatland start as his 12 & 13 combination next week?
Strange article
Picking on a player who has actually done well, without his positional nous I would suggest the lions would have had holes punched thru the midfield
Agree- this article is written by someone who watched a completely different game than I did. Jonathan Davies had a fine game……what??? This article is wrong in so many ways that I am not prepared to put that much effort in to writing about it all. O Driscoll may be dropped for the next match- eh ok.
playing in the centre you are totally dependant on the quality of your inside man. and davies didnt create anything today. roberts and bod is what lions need. keep murray and bring in a hooker who can throw.
Bod won’t be dropped, and he doesn’t deserve to be.
Been statiscally one of the lions better backs. outside sexton, hes the cleverest back on tour, defensively a rock and now oconnells gone, the vocal leader on the pitch. In comparision to davies who has made a number of costly mistakes over the duration including the try today, and very little in attack. Roberts and odriscoll could be a series winning partnership if they get the chance to play together.
O’Driscoll was poor enough today but it is unfair to say he is finished after one poor game. He is still Ireland’s best 13 by a mile and also the best 13 on the tour. He is the centre I would want on the field in the 80th min to provide a bit of magic to create a try or put his body on the line to win the series. Don’t write off the great man yet!
An unbelievably poor article. I struggle to see what you have based the majority of your points on. Shame on you for trying to grab an easy headline
Omg.. im not a leinster fan but to suggest that bod is so far off his best days is absolute rubbish!! He is playing so of his best rugby,what about his tackle count??? why not put Davis on the bench for missing and misjudging 3 tackles.?? We lost one leader in O Connell can’t lose another! !
very strange article bod still the best centre in the squad and it WILL be bod and roberts if fit in centre next week.
Rugby resembles a bucket of p!ss bud…
Steamy p!ss
Cian Healy is proving to be a huge loss
Problem is down to Garland’s original selection. Three international outside centres, BOD, Tuilagi and Davies, and only one genuine 12 Roberts. Add the lack of cover at fly half leads to players playing out of position which would never happen playing for their country. BOD should still be first pick 13 all the same
Next Saturday selection. 15. Halfpenny.14. Bowe. 13.Bod.12.roberts.11. North. 10. Sexton. 9. Phillips.8. Faletau. 7. SOB.6. Lydiate.5. Gray. 4. Awj. 3. Jones. 2. Hibbardt. 1. Corbisero
Heaslip was good today but Faletau will suit the tight game they will play next week. Tuilagi is a good option but Davies wont be in the 23.
Still fancy the lions to win in Sydney it was never going to be a 3-0 series win BOD’s will not only play next week but will captain the Lions to a test series victory and no man deserves that more than him he has been immense in this series in a different way and Patrick I do wonder about your rugby knowledge at times are you knew to watching the game or was it just the way the sports were divvied out in the Score office?
Indeed it is ridiculous for Patrick to question BOD’s selection when he excelled in a tight game today. Will be a tight call between Heaslip & Faletau, but I thought Jamie did well today. Can’t agree with recalling “the cheat” Phillips though, shocking last week and struggles at the highest level
Love it ! Brilliant in a different way!
Just the 7 changes so? No panic there. I think O’Driscoll will start but worth a debate.
The coach is to blame, Lions are predictable & playing 9 man rugby. where has the free flowing rugby gine? Gatland was the wrong choice for promoting Northern Hemisphere Rugby, bring on Joe Schmidt in 2017.
This site is getting worse for rubbish articles. Delete app I think
Work away
I think you need to watch the two tests again and look at the stats! Brian O’Driscoll is first choice at 13, his leadership is priceless, his tackling is phenomenal(so what if he is kneeling on a tackled player he doesnt get pinged all the time and he adapts his tackle instantly call it the dark arts of tackling all rugby teams borderline on the rules all the time)and he will continually put his body on the line for the good of the team. Not to mention the constant organising and marshalling of the defence that we barely see on tv! Watch him live and watch him for 80 minutes you would not be writing such utter drivel. There are young lions who probably would of coughed up more tries more penalties only for the experience of O’Driscoll, jones in the front row etc Roberts at 12 bod at 13 end of
They should drop some of the English boys they were very poor today cant see wat so special about vuinipola other then he’s a big lump
What’s their nationality got to do with it ?
It was just easier then spelling out there names im sure people get wat I meant I thought the 3 of them were very poor today
The real problem with the lions is there lack of a real game plan, if you look at the Australian team it’s not exactly what you would call a world beating team. It’s classic garland he can’t coach creativity it’s why he wouldn’t stray too far from his welsh players. What happened today was we sat back and gave a team far too much ball to attack with, you don’t win games on defence alone and to be honest winning on penalties alone would be a little sad, we are gonna need tries to win this
its over drop him and have some chance of winning the series. he owes rugby zilch but TBH hes poor at best at this point of his career. time irish rugby faces the abyss without him, but time is up.
Poor Phil it kills you watching leinster players
Looks like the village idiot is back!
I think Gatland always intended to play Roberts ahead of O’Driscoll
Roberts plays in a different position to BOD
Shite mate
Chris when their that poor two weeks in a row I think they should go. But he’s a media magnet and seemingly untouchable! Can u admit sometime that he has been poor? No more waltzing o ‘d.
Gatland should move O’Driscoll to 12, then place either Tuilagi or North at 13.
Zebo at 15.
Is it taboo to question the value of Halfpenny at test level?
Out jumped on every ball by the Wallabies and nothing going forward.
It’s like having 14 players on the pitch.
Kearney or Zebo at pace from deep off O’Driscoll & Tuilagi would make a real difference.
If the Lions are worried about their scrum, they should start Matt Stevens at loose head.
Zebo at 15 ?
Come on
He had no problems against SA.
Ye but this is the lions and you are losing your primary goal kicker
Halfpenny is the best kicker fair enough but sexton is a goal kicker and a good one at that and who’s to say sexton wouldn’t have nailed the two he missed.
He is not offering anything else on the pitch and Kearney or Zebo offer more.
The lions are playing a fair bit of kick chase and who better than the two irish to regain the ball.
Sexton does not have a 50 metre kick halfpenny does and was kicking yesterday at 53 metres(some media are saying from 50 but it was 53)and was just short. They are both brilliant kickers
Sexton has a longer kick than LH. I have seen him knock them over from inside his own half plenty of times before. LH has such incredible accuracy but JS has a longer kick
This article is nonsense. BOD and Davies are too similar in that they both need a big bruising 12 playing instead them to get over the gain line so they can play a bit wider. Roberts and BOD to start 3rd test with Tuilagi on the bench to provide impact. What was the point of Cuthbert on the bench, can only cover wing and is nothing more than a big straight line runner. Lions needed someone on the bench who could change the game and Farrell and Cuthbert don’t offer that