Brian O'Driscoll

This article is about the rugby union player. For the Gaelic footballer, see Brian O'Driscoll (Gaelic footballer). For the hurler, see Brian O'Driscoll (hurler).

Brian O'Driscoll
Birth nameBrian Gerard O'Driscoll
Date of birth (1979-01-21) 21 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight93 kg (14 st 9 lb; 205 lb)
SchoolBlackrock College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Notable relative(s)Frank O'Driscoll (father)
Barry O'Driscoll (cousin)
John O'Driscoll (cousin)
Spouse
​
(m. 2010)​
Children3
Rugby union career
Position(s) Outside Centre
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998–2014 University College Dublin ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1999–2014 Leinster 186 (311)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1996 Ireland Schools 3
1998 Ireland U-19s 5
1999 Ireland U-21s 4
2002 Ireland A 1
1999–2014 Ireland 133 (245)
2001–2013 British & Irish Lions 8 (5)

Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.

O'Driscoll is the fourth most-capped player in rugby union history, having played 141 test matches: 133 for Ireland (83 as captain), and 8 for the Lions.[1][2] He scored 46 tries for Ireland and 1 try for the Lions in 2001, making him the highest try scorer of all time in Irish Rugby.[1][3] He is the 8th-highest try scorer in international rugby union history, and the highest scoring centre of all time. O'Driscoll holds the Six Nations record for most tries scored with 26.[4][5] He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (30) by an Irishman.[6] O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Six Nations Championships.[7]

He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame on 17 November 2016 at the opening ceremony for the Hall's first location in Rugby, Warwickshire.[8] O'Driscoll was involved in Irish Rugby's unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 World Cup.[9] He now works as a rugby analyst for BT Sport and ITV Sport in the United Kingdom. He is also involved in a number of business ventures including the Ultimate Rugby mobile app[10] and Zipp, an Irish e-scooter start-up.[11]

  1. ^ a b Irish Rugby: Ireland – Profile: Brian O'Driscoll Archived 11 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 21 March 2011
  2. ^ Brian O'Driscoll: Rugby Union Profile ESPN Scrum Retrieved 21 March 2011
  3. ^ Lyle Jackson (15 February 2009). "2009 Six Nations". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  4. ^ O'Driscoll sets all-time try record Sydney Morning Herald; retrieved 21 March 2011
  5. ^ O'Driscoll the great has Irish believing in BOD The Independent; retrieved 21 March 2011
  6. ^ Leinster Rugby – Profile: Brian O'Driscoll Retrieved 21 March 2011
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "World Rugby Hall of Fame: Jonny Wilkinson attends launch". BBC News Coventry & Warwickshire. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Ireland 2023 | Ireland Delivers World Class Bid to World Rugby". Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  10. ^ Quinn, Gavin (27 March 2020). "What does Brian O'Driscoll do now? All you need to know about the Ireland legend". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  11. ^ Taylor, Charlie. "Brian O'Driscoll backs e-scooter start-up Zipp as it preps for UK launch". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 September 2020.