HANG ON TO your knitting everyone, Brian O’Driscoll has just posted his second blog entry of the week.
I won’t go as far to say it should be entitled ‘The BOD with the Dragon Tattoo’ but thriller writers like Robert Harris and John Grisham are, this afternoon, quaking.
On Monday, O’Driscoll wrote on the IRFU website:
The whole squad is looking forward to playing in the Aviva Stadium this weekend and the fact that our first test match there is against the world champions, South Africa should guarantee a great occasion.
We were honoured and privileged to play in Croke Park, enjoying our time there but there is something exciting about going back to what is a hugely impressive new stadium.
It’s going to be a massive challenge for us as South Africa will be looking to put the Tri-Nations behind them and concentrate on finishing the year in style.
The fact that will be wearing a specially commissioned once off green jersey – the Springboks have allowed us to play in green rather than white as the home team normally changes if there is a clash of colours – will just add to the occasion.
It’s the start of a tough month of international fixtures and there will be no let up in terms of the intensity and physicality of the challenges posed by the Springboks, Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina.
Phew, do not mix that stuff with three Nurofen if you plan on taking a flight this weekend, people. Powerful stuff.
This morning the Ireland captain wrote about once again hearing the famous ‘Lansdowne roar.’
The closer we get to Saturday, the greater the anticipation. I suffered a little bit of a re-tear of the hamstring injury I sustained against Racing Metro in the week of the Connacht game.
I probably came back a fraction early and tried to go from first to fourth gear. I have felt very good in training this week and am really looking forward to the game against the Springboks.
On a personal level, having trained for 13 days in succession it was just nice not to have to be anywhere at a particular time on Wednesday.
I rediscovered the inner child with eggs and soldiers – I did have the muesli too – in the Lennox café. I just sat there with a paper, replying to emails and text messages. It was very soothing and as I was leaving I bumped into Darce (Gordon D’Arcy) who was there to chill out too.
Fr Jessup-levels of sarcasm aside (no, we came around the tip of Yemen), that’s an improvement. We literally know what he had for breakfast.
And like a good IRFU employee in these difficult times, he asks who’s for the last of the Cornettos – and tickets.
Hopefully we might sell a few more tickets between now and Saturday to recreate that really special atmosphere that was such an important part of the old Lansdowne Road experience.
It would be great to christen the Aviva Stadium in a Test capacity with a memorable performance, on and off the pitch.
Well said.
