Brian O'Driscoll: An Irish Legacy
Lions career
In 2001, O'Driscoll was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. He was selected to start the First Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, playing a massive part in the 29-13 victory for the tourists and capped off a fine display with a stunning try just after half time, leaving Wallaby stars Matt Burke, Joe Roff and George Smith clutching at thin air. O'Driscoll was powerless to stop the Lions losing the series 2-1 though as his side went on to lose in Melbourne and Sydney.
In 2005 O'Driscoll was again selected to tour with the Lions to New Zealand but his playing contribution was ended in the opening minutes of the first Test against the All Blacks in Christchurch. In a highly controversial incident, Kiwi Skipper Tana Umaga and teammate Kevin Mealamu dumping the Irishman upside down at the side of a ruck, leaving O'Driscoll in agony with a dislocated shoulder, ending his tour in the process.
In 2009, O'Driscoll was selected for the third time as part of the Lions tour to South Africa. He was named in the outside centre position for the Lions in their first test of the 2009 tour against South Africa, in which he made two assists as the Lions lost 26 – 21. In agonising fashion O'Driscoll and his teammates again lost the second test and the series to the Springboks in a match that they dominated for large parts. The Lions lost the series 2-1,
In 2013, O'Driscoll was named in the squad for his fourth British & Irish Lions tour. The Lions won the first and lost the second in which O'Driscoll started both games, leaving the series on a knife edge with one match left to play. Coach Warren Gatland caused massive controversy by dropping him from the squad for the final test, the first time O'Driscoll had been dropped in his international career. The Lions went on to win the match by 41 points to 16 and O'Driscoll finally got the Lions series victory he desperately deserved.