Mick O'Driscoll is undaunted by being asked to fill probably the biggest boots in Irish rugby, writes John O'Sullivan
Mick O'Driscoll doesn't shirk a challenge so the prospect of making his first start in his ninth cap for Ireland at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome won't faze him. The 28-year-old Cork-born secondrow was promoted from the replacements to deputise for the injured Paul O'Connell in Saturday's final Six Nations Championship match.
Patience has been something of a virtue for O'Driscoll. He was weaned as a Munster tyro during the era of, first, John Langford and Mick Galwey and, latterly, Donncha O'Callaghan and O'Connell. That is a formidable foursome, so his decision to leave the province and spend two seasons with Perpignan illustrated character as well as ambition.
It was a huge decision, something O'Driscoll tried to explain shortly after his move to France.
"I can't put into words how much of a wrench it was to leave Munster," he said. "To be brutally honest, I never wanted to leave in the first place and I mean that in the best possible sense.
"I don't mean it in a bad way. Munster was my home and I'd known nothing else other than Munster rugby and I absolutely loved my time there. I had to be honest about how things had gone over the past two seasons.
"On a personal level I thought I'd done a reasonably good job; the coaches had to make their decisions. Without trying to sound cocky or trying to demean anyone who was brought in, I know I would have got game time.
"That wasn't a huge issue but I felt that all things being equal, with everyone fit, I wasn't going to be in the 15. I spent the previous four or five years on the bench without ever really breaking into the team for a long stint, which was a bit disappointing. That was down to me more than anything else.
"I wasn't going to get any better staying in Munster. I'm not saying I would have given up. Sitting on the bench wouldn't have been good enough for me; that prompted my decision to make a break."
Since returning from the south of France O'Driscoll has had to fight hard and a reward for that dedication and perseverance is this, his ninth Irish cap, sweetened by a first start. The circumstances are not ideal, as the player is the first to acknowledge, but there is little room for sentiment.
"You would prefer it to be on your own terms rather than from an injury," he said yesterday. "You try and take your chances when they come, no matter how they come. I feel very sorry for Paulie (O'Connell).
"To date the lads have been playing quite well. For me it's about trying to fit in as best I can and hopefully things will go well for us at the weekend.
"For us (Ireland) it's about imposing our game on them and not sitting back and letting them get their game up and going. It's important to get into them from the start. The Italian front five is arguably the toughest in the competition."
The prospect of Ireland's rivals knowing what they require in terms of the three-cornered spat for the championship was correctly dismissed by coach Eddie O'Sullivan as peripheral. According to O'Driscoll, being first allows Ireland, if they win, to exert pressure on France and England from the start of their games.
He has played on sundry representative teams - Munster Schools, Ireland under-19s, under-21s, Ireland A, Ireland - and at 28 is confident in his own ability.
When asked if the "new boy" might have a few problems settling in and adapting to a new lineout set-up, O'Driscoll responded, "No, not really. We have been in camp for seven or eight weeks and Rory (Best) has thrown to me in the lineout. It's not a huge issue. Rory is one of the best throwers in the game at the minute."
For the Cork Constitution player, his rugby concerns relate to the present and there is a small matter of an Italian job that requires his immediate attention.
