Brian O’Driscoll talks "huge" Twickenham trip and Eddie Jones’ Ireland ‘envy’

03/10/2022

Many Irish with even a faint interest in rugby will bristle at the mention of Twickenham around this time of year, something that coaxes a mixed bag of memories facing England at Headquarters.

A rivalry that dates back to 1875 was subject to one-way traffic in its earliest phases, and it was just short of 20 years before Ireland managed their maiden win on English soil.

The trip across the channel is no longer the seemingly foregone conclusion it once was, although Andy Farrell has lost twice in two visits to his home country since taking over the Ireland helm in 2019.

Ireland have, in fact, won just one of their last eight expeditions to the 'Home of Rugby', but Brian O'Driscoll agrees with Eddie Jones that the guests will be slim favourites for their Six Nations showdown on Saturday.

England's head coach ditched his more combative approach to media warfare in favour of a charm offensive this week, going so far as to dub Ireland "the most cohesive side in the world."

O'Driscoll, 43, is wise to the pre-match tactics that often envelop Jones' build-up, however, insisting the praise is just another layer to Jones' repartee ahead of the fourth-round face-off.

“This is Round 1 of the compliments, isn’t it," he told Mirror Sport at the launch of BT's 5G Edge-XR technology, an augmented reality initiative promising to transform how viewers watch live sport.

“I don’t think Eddie just shoots from the hip. I think he’s got a very good idea, mapping out the narrative he wants to get across, be it now or building for the [2023 Rugby] World Cup.

“So I’m always mindful of taking any negativity or criticism totally to heart, because there’s usually an angle with it.

“But I do think some things Eddie’s said this week are absolutely true. I do think Ireland are probably just marginal favourites on the basis of what we’ve seen the last five, six months."

That period includes a 29-20 victory over New Zealand —Ireland's third in five meetings with the All Blacks —something O'Driscoll never managed in 14 encounters against the three-time World Cup champions.

Jones' flattery extended specifically to Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton, who signed a new contract with Irish Rugby this week while announcing his intention to retire following next year's World Cup in France.

It was here that the Australian's back-handed compliment was perhaps more clear, referring to Sexton as an "outstanding operator" before acknowledging the 36-year-old is "looked after” by his club.

Irish rugby's most powerful province for a number of years now, Farrell's current squad is littered with Leinster talent, and the country's format makes it easier for those players to manage game time at club level.

And yet O'Driscoll—a 133-cap veteran for Ireland who benefited himself from Ireland's central contract system—doesn't see Ireland's strengths as anything that demand any form of apology.

“And he’s right," added the four-time British and Irish Lions tourist. "Johnny being able to play for Leinster and pick and choose the games [he plays in] is of benefit and has elongated his career to being a 36-year-old first-choice international 10 still.

“He’s not the only one, I was part of that, and I think people can look on enviously at that, that our union got it right from the off.”

"Envy" is the word, alright, as Ireland's evolution into one of world rugby's most revered forces has come through pain-staking investment in its schools system, where Leinster again reigns supreme.

O'Driscoll believes the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) did well to realise at the genesis of the professional sport that "the national team feeds" everything below it: “So I think a lot of countries would look on and think we [Ireland] got the structure right."

Asked whether Jones' admiration verges into jealousy, however, and that's where the Irish icon draws the line: "I would say ‘envious’ rather than jealous, because I don’t think there’s any positive connotations to jealousy.

"I think there can be positive connotations to envy, where you can look on and want something you can’t have."

O'Driscoll went on to note Ireland's "tiny population" of five or so million people (less than 10 per cent of England's), not to mention the fact rugby is its fourth-choice sport.

That framing of this fixture as a form of David versus Goliath battle are part of what makes any meeting between the nations so special, not to mention the old political ties that bind the two.

A solitary point separates Farrell's second-place side from Jones' men in third, and the victor at Twickenham gets to keep alive their hopes of toppling leaders France on the final weekend.

O'Driscoll's Test career started with straight defeats at Headquarters—examples of those games he's 'erased from memory'—but he went on to beat England on their own turf three times in a row before losing his final visit in 2014.

“England is a huge game," he replied when asked if a trip to Twickenham is as big as its gets for an Irish international.

“There are two things: there are the players, and then there’s the public. We’ve always had a love of beating England, and it’s borne from that political point of view.

“But from a rugby perspective, it’s because England are one of the best teams in the world more often than not.

“So particularly if you go to their home and win, it’s a huge deal. There’s a big furore about it when you beat them in Ireland, because you get to enjoy it and everyone gets that sense a bit more."

O'Driscoll was fortunate enough to win eight of his 13 run-ins with England across a 15-year career in green, which just so happens to align with one of Ireland's most successful periods in this fixture.

But despite the deep rivalry between the two countries, there's one match in particular the 2009 Grand Slam-winner would put level with Twickenham in terms of scale and significance.

“When you beat them [England] away from home, albeit a bigger achievement, I don’t know if it necessarily impacts the country [Ireland] in the same way," he continued.

“Speaking from a player’s perspective, I think it’s one of the biggest, no doubt, to go and win at Twickenham.

“We’ve not won in New Zealand, so that’s on the to-do list. So they’re neck-and-neck, I would suggest.”

Retirement from playing hasn't diluted that sense of competition for O'Driscoll, though he has learnt from past mistakes in how he approaches certain aspects of the game.

He recalled one instance during a previous tournament where he made the mistake of suggesting he wouldn't take any English players above his Irish compatriots in a combined XV.

Now more candid (or at least complimentary) in his forecasts, O'Driscoll has no trouble naming a number of Jones' current squad who could challenge their Irish counterparts for a place.

“I think Maro Itoje would make a World XV at the moment," he praised. "I think he’s still an excellent performer.

“I think Ellis Genge would potentially make our team with Andrew Porter not fit now, I think that would be a close-run thing."

He exhales in anticipation of this weekend's likely head-to-head between opensides as he added: “ Tom Curry and Josh van der Flier, the way Josh is playing at the moment. Ordinarily you might have said ‘definitely Tom,’ but that’s a photo finish."

While the importance of the game itself hasn't altered in the slightest, it's plain to see O'Driscoll is able to take a more diplomatic approach ahead of Ireland's biggest game of the year thus far.

Lose at Twickenham on Saturday and Ireland's Six Nations title hopes will have reached a close—that is, unless Wales manage what looks an unlikely upset over France on Friday evening.

More accustomed to taking matters into his own hands as a player, O'Driscoll is urging Ireland to be the masters of their own fate come Saturday.

EE and BT Sport have unveiled new ways to watch and experience live sport at home, in school and at stadia using the power of 5G technology. To find out more visit: https://www.bt.com/sport/features/ee-bt-reveal-new-ways-to-watch-sports-and-the-performing-arts

Source: Read Full Article