Brian O'Driscoll

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.

Another cousin of Frank's, Barry's brother John, represented Ireland 26 times and was a member of the Lions teams that toured South Africa in 1980 and New Zealand in 1983.

As a child, Brian played Gaelic football before switching to rugby.

For his secondary education, he attended Blackrock College, where he played in the Leinster Senior Cup team in 1996 and 1997.

Although O'Driscoll started the first two rounds of the competition in 1996, he was subsequently dropped to the bench for the remainder of the competition, and was an unused replacement in the team's victorious final appearance.

He was capped three times for Ireland Schools in 1996.

In 1997 they were beaten in the quarter-final by Clongowes.

In 1998, O'Driscoll played for the Ireland U-19 side, which won the Under 19 Rugby World Championship.

After leaving school, he attended University College Dublin (UCD) on a scholarship and graduated with a Diploma in Sports Management in 1998.

While at UCD, he first made the under-20 side, before being promoted to the top team near the end of his first year.

O'Driscoll made his Ireland under-21 debut in February 1999, and eventually gained four caps.

O'Driscoll made his debut for Leinster in 1999, and under head coach Matt Williams and backs coach Alan Gaffney he became an explosive force in the Leinster backline, forming a highly effective centre partnership with Shane Horgan.

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.

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.

He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (30) by an Irishman.

In 2001, Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League beating Munster in Lansdowne Road.

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.

In 2003, Leinster were heavy favourites for that year's Heineken Cup but were beaten by Perpignan in the semi-finals.

Leinster appointed Michael Cheika in the summer of 2005 and despite rumours of O'Driscoll moving to France, O'Driscoll agreed to another year in Ireland.

That year, O'Driscoll returning from a shoulder injury suffered on the Lions tour, would assume the captaincy for the season.

Under backs coach David Knox and the movement of Argentine international Felipe Contepomi to fly half, the Leinster back line became one of the most potent in Europe.

O'Driscoll excelled in wins over Bath Rugby and Toulouse away from home.

These victories would set up a Heineken Cup semi-final in Lansdowne Road against Munster, but defeat against the eventual champions Munster would deny O'Driscoll and his team a final berth.

Leinster were also denied a Magners League title, with David Humphreys of Ulster slotting an injury time drop goal to give victory to Ulster in their final game of the season.

O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Six Nations Championships.

In 2007, Wasps beat Leinster in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

In 2007, Leinster reached the final hurdle of the Magners league only to be denied by the Ospreys and Cardiff.

In 2008, Leinster lost in the group stages.

In 2009 he received the UCD Foundation Day Medal for his sporting achievements.

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.

O'Driscoll was involved in Irish Rugby's unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 World Cup.

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 and Zipp, an Irish e-scooter start-up.

O'Driscoll was born in Dublin to Frank and Geraldine O'Driscoll, both physicians.

O'Driscoll's family was steeped in rugby.

His father, Frank, played two games for Ireland and a cousin of his father, Barry, won four caps.