O'Driscoll: Wants to be part of a triumphant Lions tour
Ireland and Leinster centre Brian O'Driscoll is determined to tour with the British & Irish Lions for a fourth time and said it would be impossible to turn down the team's captaincy if he was approached by Warren Gatland.
O'Driscoll captained the Lions on the 2005 tour of New Zealand, where his participation was ended cruelly when he dislocated his shoulder following a 'spear tackle' by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu during the first Test.
He was first selected for the Lions tour to Australia in 2001 and participated on his third tour in 2009 when they lost in South Africa.
And because he has never been part of a series-winning team, O'Driscoll wants to finish off his Lions career with a victory.
"It would be impossible to turn down the opportunity if I was asked to be captain again, even though there are huge stresses that go with it," he told the Telegraph.
"It's too great an honour to contemplate saying no, but there are so many names being bandied around at the moment that I genuinely don't take much heed.
"Your captain needs to be starting in the Test team, and it is difficult to say at this stage that there is anyone who is guaranteed to be starting.
"If you said 'you can get on the trip to Australia but you are not going to win the series', I would have no interest in going.
"I have already done three tours. The only reason to go on another Lions trip would be to win the series, to do something that I haven't experienced before.
"I don't want to go on four Lions tours and win none of them. People don't remember losing Lions tours, they only remember winning tours."
The 33-year-old did not captain the 2009 Lions and admitted that there is a big difference between leading the squad and being an ordinary player on a tour.
"Having been captain on a tour, then toured when I'm not captain, I can tell you it is very different," O'Driscoll said.
"There is a lot of pressure as the Lions skipper. It was a lot more relaxing just being another player in South Africa, I was able to enjoy it and there was less scrutiny than there had been in New Zealand.
"Paul (O'Connell) did a good job in 2009, but we fell short as a team.
"Whoever does the job this time has to use the leadership group around him.
"There will be some guys who have been on previous tours and it is important to get them working for the captain.
"The key is that there is a tight-knit squad with a common goal, whatever the individual highs and lows along the way."
Comments
APV1 says...
@ Centre12 - the whole squad, never mind the captain, needs to be decided after the 6N. The debate's fun, albeit moot. Until we know who's fit and in-form, we can't really begin to seriously consider who we'd have on the plane.
Just to clarify my previous "2 captain" approach. I suppose it's akin to my local (and most) rugby club. We have a Club President and team captains. El Predidente doesn't even play in the 1st XV, but everyone listens to him.
The "President" for the Lions would be the Tour Captain and the team captain would be selected from the starting 15.
Posted 10:27 20th December 2012
Norm says...
Jonesrp
Yeah probably 20, maybe 18 at a push, certainly well past it!
Posted 09:36 20th December 2012
jonesrp says...
`people only remember winning Lions Tours...` They`d be quite elderly then, wouldn`t they ?
Posted 04:39 20th December 2012
Centre12 says...
Captain needs to be decided after the 6N's, a lot of rugby still to be played, but its should be between Robshaw, Warbuton & BOD IMO.
Posted 04:01 20th December 2012
Jcahill1 says...
@ Armchairgeneral
Which tackle?
Posted 21:08 19th December 2012
new_j4a says...
@APV1, brilliant....we should have thought of that with John Smit in the RWC11....10 min on the field at the end if the team is 3 converted tries ahead--otherwise part of the coaching staff (this way BOD should play every game in Oz...off the bench)
Posted 17:40 19th December 2012
melkdave says...
I mean no disrespect to BOD but imo,he just hasnt played enough games this season even Pro12.Let alone top leval games HC and internationals so far.To even warrent being in the squad,let alone its captain.He needs a massive injury free 6Ns and end of season to prove he is worth taking imo.
Posted 12:30 19th December 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Trust me BOD we DO remember the lost tours! It really sticks in the gut a long time. Especially the close games, and that tackle! You're right we don't remember the highlights so much as the heavy low although second test in Oz was awesome.
Posted 11:32 19th December 2012
Norm says...
A couple of things are absolutely certain:
BOD,
has lost a bit of pace
is still amongst the best centers available to the lions next year
with a determined objective like this in his mind is the first name down on the test 15 sheet
Posted 10:53 19th December 2012
hhlamazing says...
If fit he is the captain, I know a lot of people will argue this and say Warburton, POC, Robshaw and others. I think that the back row is the most competitive we have seen and Gatland needs to get the balance right. Personally I think a backrow of Armitage 7, Sean OB/Ferris 6 and Nick Easter 8 would offer serious in attack and defence. Big shout, but out and out 7's in NH Armitage is one of the best and Easter according to ERC stats is best playing number 8 with meters gained, offloads, caught passes and passes completed.
Posted 10:22 19th December 2012
Irishzimbabwean says...
I would suggest it would be a bad idea to make BOD captain of the Lions. In 2009 he was outstanding because he was free of those stresses. He will be the captain of the backline anyway and a member of the captaincy group. Invariably the best Lions captains are in the forwards - I would still choose Robshaw.
Posted 10:20 19th December 2012
APV1 says...
Oh yes. I do appreciate he's injured too. "Current form" meaning you're only as good as your last match. He wasn't the BOD of old, that's for sure.
Posted 10:14 19th December 2012
APV1 says...
I'd like to be the captain too, but I'm not good enough either. Once a great (the best, arguably) player. Now still great at club level and possibly for Ireland. But his current form hasn't shoo'd him into the Lions for me. Yet.
Let's see how the 6N goes first. Then, maybe...
And I remind you all of another of my (many) strokes of genius, regarding the captain. I think we need 2:
We need a "Tour Captain". Someone who controls the group off the pitch and liases with "Der Management" on behalf of players. He needs to be a natural leader and a very strong character. Able to be the go-between and mediator (if necessary) between players and management. This is THE CAPTAIN. But they may not play every game. They may not even be a nailed-on started for the tests.
So you need a team captain. To get this you pick your matchday squad. From that, you pick your starting 15. Then you pick your team captain from that 15.
An unpopular way to do things, I appreciate, but one possible way.
And, in my opinion, the only way BOD will have at being Tour Captain on current form.
Posted 10:12 19th December 2012