INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN O'DRISCOLL: IN ABOUT a week's time one of the early-season talking points may well be resolved. Announcing a squad of 30-plus for the forthcoming November Tests against Canada, New Zealand and Argentina might also be an opportune time for Declan Kidney to reveal who will be Ireland's captain.

Brian O'Driscoll is the man in situ, having captained Ireland a record 48 times, but as part of a new broom Kidney understandably was not of a mind to rush any decisions. Most probably, he and his newly assembled coaching ticket were weighing up the form as well as the claims of Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara and the incumbent skipper.

By his own high standards, the 2007-08 season was not a vintage one for O'Driscoll, and for him to retain the captaincy it made sense that he would rediscover some of his old sparkle. Although looking leaner and sharper this season, with his work-rate and defence remaining excellent, the sight of him making a couple of clean line breaks and running in a try against Edinburgh was also opportune.

There would be an argument for making a change just to freshen things up, and maybe even see if it would benefit O'Driscoll, as it has done with Leinster. Against that, O'Connell arguably has enough on his plate captaining Munster, and likewise O'Gara as the team's goalkicker and primary decision-maker. It's the kind of decision that is a readymade talking point, though arguably it's of less impact within the squad, for all of them will remain vocal leaders in any case and eventually life will just move on.

It's clear that O'Driscoll would like to captain his country again. "Yeah, it's something that still very much interests me and now that I'm asked, yeah I've enjoyed it thoroughly over the last five or six years. Yeah, it still holds a candle for me, and it's something that, in a fresh set-up and everything, I'd feel that having taken a step back from Leinster I'm still hungry for that. So we'll wait and see what Declan decides upon."

In so much as he is back in the trenches at Leinster after relinquishing the captaincy, he's enjoyed it. "That's the thing, as much as you mightn't be captain, I still do a lot of talking. But you have to make sure you're not rabitting on. You make your points fewer so that they're more to the point.

"I'm conscious of that, but it's nice not having the media aspect, it's nice not being the focal point for players to go to with problems; not having to deal with referees the whole time. Only now that I've taken a step back I realise it is a stress off you."

In his frustration at damaging one of his hamstrings again in the Melbourne Test, O'Driscoll had talked aloud about a different pre-season and, true to his word, came back leaner as well as hungrier.

"I've lost a few pounds. I was too, not muscle bound, but I was too heavy last year. I was carrying a bit but I was probably eating the weights a bit more too. I've come down the guts of a stone."

He feels better for it. "I feel quick, I definitely feel quicker than last year, but 80 minutes is a long time to carry around an extra stone, if you look at it that way. I've worked on that side of things a lot more, I've worked on being able to make it through 80 minutes. I used to struggle, after 65-70 it used to start getting to me. Now I'm still struggling at times in games but I'm finishing strong, which is important."

O'Driscoll was speaking in the wake of Leinster's win over Edinburgh. Following that up this weekend would leave Leinster in a strong position atop Pool Two after the opening skirmishes, though as he reveals, "we've not backed up, we've not won successive games that often in Europe".

Indeed, of the last nine back-to-back pool rounds in the Heineken Cup over three years, Leinster have only achieved the feat twice; beating Glasgow at home and Bath away in the last two rounds three seasons ago, and Agen on consecutive weekends a couple of campaigns ago.

Wasps have kick-started their season with a win over Castres and O'Driscoll and Leinster know they'll be travelling to the RDS to bully them physically with their emphasis on winning the collisions and setting both a high intensity and high tempo.

A step up then, and critically, unlike the Edinburgh game, from the kick-off. "I don't think you can take 20 minutes against a team like Wasps to get going and get hold of the ball. We'll have to start better and get into the game earlier."