Ireland v Wallabies: Cian Healy’s candid view on Brian O’Driscoll comparison ahead of milestone match
Former Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll and veteran prop Cian Healy.
Ireland prop Cian Healy has downplayed comparisons with the great Brian O’Driscoll who he is set to surpass as his country’s most capped Test player in Saturday’s clash with Australia at the Aviva Stadium.
Healy and O’Driscoll are currently level on 133 Test appearances apiece for the men from the Emerald Isle but the veteran front-row will hold the top spot on his own when he inevitability takes to the field against the Wallabies in the last Autumn Nations Series Test of the year.
There are some key differences between the duo with O’Driscoll plying his trade as an outside centre for Ireland from 1999 to 2014 but apart from their positions, O’Driscoll only made one of his appearances at Test level as a replacement while Healy came off the bench on more than 40 occasions.
‘I wasn’t ever and will never be the player he was’
“It’s very different between ‘Drico’ and me,” Healy told AFP earlier this month. “I wasn’t ever and will never be the player he was, so it is separated in that immediately.
“I take pride in the durability and being able to show up.”
Meanwhile, O’Driscoll, who is widely regarded as one of the game’s best ever centres, is unemotional about losing the appearance record to Healy and hailed his former Ireland and Leinster team-mate’s longevity in the game.
“Doing it in the front-row is amazing, it really is, to have that capacity and the punishment you take,” O’Driscoll told Irish radio this week.
Highly rated by Andy Farrell
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is an unabashed admirer of Healy and what he has achieved in the game.
“The utmost respect doesn’t do it justice,” said Farrell, who first came across the 37-year-old during the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013.
“It has been a pleasure to be able to coach him.
“Back in 2013 I was amazed at his athleticism. He would have been right in his pomp at that stage.
“He’s been a world leading loosehead throughout his career.”
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