O’Driscoll great in a way no Wallaby will be

"Rugby in Ireland has no peer. There is no AFL, no rugby league and their football team doesn’t scare anyone. Rugby rules the land of the green. Let’s be realistic, rugby in Australia lags well behind the AFL, NRL and the A-League, so the chance of a Wallaby being dubbed a national hero is slim at best." I don't think that is correct. Rugby is behind football (soccer), Gaelic Football and Hurling in terms of participation and national obsession. The status is similar to rugby in Australia.

We can argue all we like about the word hero. Personally I feel Rugby requires attributes of physical courage not far short of warfare. Of course Rugby players don't expect to egt killed (but then nor do many soldiers - and before you ask I know and work with lots of the latter); but Rugby players do throw themselves into a degree of physical contact in th expectation of significant pain and the risk of serious injury. They also do so in a collective manner in which team mates rely on each other implicitly to be there in support. For my part therefore there is a heroism involved in the game which makes it so far removed from sports like football. As an Englishman I can't comment on BOD's status as an Irishman. But for the way he has played the game - combining the utmost competitive ferocity with almost untarnished sportsmanship and personal humility - I think he deserves to be called a hero of the game.

How does david pocock even get on that list, he may one day get to 'hero' status but not today and not for a long time. Also leaving out Australia's greatest flyhalf : Stephen Larkham

gee the welsh and Irish are a precious bunch...getting all worked up over whether rugby is bigger than other sports. You might as well recognize rugby as a big sport in your country because there is nothing else going for you lot in the world of sports anyway

I would like to point out to David Lord, that yes indeed Brian O'Driscoll is a national hero in Ireland. Undoubtedly BOD is our greatest ever Irish rugby player. However to say that rugby does not have to compete with AFL or Rugby League is inaccurate & wrong! In Ireland the popularity if rugby has grown exponentially since 2000 (before that Irish teams couldn't even buy a win!!). But rugby is our 4th post popular sport in terms of both playing & spectating behind 1st Gaelic Football (GAA) 2nd Hurling (GAA & prob the fastest field sport in the world & extremely skilful!) 3rd Soccer. Rugby lies 4th. So the IRFU indeed are in a similar position promoting a minority sport to a small & concentrated gene pool. This makes O'Driscoll's rugby prowess all the more remarkable :)

Well you cant call us haters unlike people of another nationality that frequent these threads.

Rugby doesn't have genuine international competition when compared to Soccer. By your logic if Rugby has genuine international competition than so does Cricket. The only genuine international sport is Soccer. Rugby doesn't even come close.

As far as Wales is concerned the Welsh Rugby team is the "national team" much like the Australian cricket team but like cricket it only grabs the masses at test level. Below that Cardiff City and Swansea would be way bigger than any Rugby club and I would be happy to bet a much larger percentage of the Welsh population even in the south would follow EPL than club Rugby. So is Rugby the number one game in Wales?Depends how you define it I suppose.As an interesting anecdotal observation on this issue I grew up in Ipswich QLD in the late sixties early seventies and the town had quite a large Welsh expat community. Amongst this community soccer was most certainly their chosen sport... indeed they had their own club Blackstone Welsh .They certainly did not seem to have any involvement in the Rugby codes.

It is a very long time since I visited Ireland 1978 in fact...back then in the North middle class protestants played Rugby working class protestants played soccer and the Catholic minority played the indigenous Irish games. In the republic Rugby was big in the elite schools while the masses followed the gaelic games and also soccer.My guess is soccer has probably got bigger since then and may have even overtaken the indigenous games One thing I would be certain of is that Rugby Football would not even be close to the biggest sport in Ireland either the Republic or the North.Having saisd that lots of sports fans probably follow the fortunes of the national Rugby team even if it is not their favourite sport.

Many people would not recognise either of them. Of course they would. And lol re Dan Carter's private life being kept private - he has an active twitter account, there are billboards of him advertising jockeys, he sold his wedding rights to Woman's Day, articles about their baby and house, showed photos at Oscar awards party, and talks about the fashion store. McCaw, admittedly, is a bit more private as are other stars like Read and Conrad Smith

At the SFS I sit alongside a former Irish test prop. From what he tells me when we discuss the merits of all things rugby,BOD is a household name in Ireland ,because like Australians and kiwis (like myself) the Irish do follow cross codes. He loves hurling, but wasn't too fussed on Gaelic football. But still follows both sports! My definition of heroes derives from dedication, sacrifice and service and not just from being lucky enough to have collected a bunch of genes and intelligence to be talented players / participants in any sport, pastime or activity. Eales was a talented proponent of his particular position in rugby an exceptional leader and showed true sportsmanship at all time during his playing days and since. For me he qualifies as a role model not hero. His last minute kick under pressure to win a rather significant test makes him iconic. Richie McCaw is the same, his playing during the recent World Cup with a significant injury adds to his Mana and he is a good role model in demeanour and behaviour on and off field but still only a future icon. Weary Dunlop sits in my definition of hero and sportsman for his efforts in the Japanese prison camps! So does Edmund Hillary who ,great climber that he was, considered the conquering of Everest a joint/team effort and then tirelessly worked for the rest of his life to better the life of the Sherpas even to the extent that his constant visits to help establish schools at the high altitude stuffed his lungs but he continued his philanthropic work to the end. There are many tags we can label prominent people with:- Exceptional One off Unique True Sportsman Unequalled Role model National treasure Iconic Hero Unfortunately the last two and fourth last are often, I think, being used too indiscriminately by the press and media. So far national treasure hasn't been as badly bandied around. Any way back to BOD, great servant to the public face of Irish Rugby enjoyable to watch will be great to listen to his inciteful comments if he takes up the microphone in the future. Long may he prosper!

Brian odriscoll was voted Ireland's most marketable sports personality recently.

all BOD will ever remember (in his various retirement announcements) is that he never won against the AB's. It will be gutting for him when it finally happens (can't be long now). I am more worried about the Irish team next year than the poms... though BOD seemed to have been a good luck charm for us rather his home team...

Rugby players get the promotional contracts and media interviews due to their availability. Other sports stars are mostly abroad or famous in their own county. Rugby regardless of the national side is broadcast on the national broadcaster and it gets good time on the big radio stations, tv documentaries and print press. Merchandise is affordable as Irish sports fans love decking themselves out in their team gear. The ARU would kill for that. O'Driscoll in a poll a few years back was rated one of the top Irish sportstars of all time.

Maybe "has no peer" is a bridge too far, but it is, as I understand, the only code that unites the Republic and the North behind a single team.

Rugby a minority sport in Ireland? False. Essentially the only real professional sport in Ireland. Not as big as football, hurling or soccer but still a major sport. Munster playing leinster in the pro12 in march and already about 45,000 tickets sold for a regular league game. that attendance is rarely matced in football and only in Gaelic football/hurling play offs. And just to clarify odriscoll is definitily a household name in every part of the country(it's a small country), as are the other stars in the other sports

Johnno it's called the IRFU player management scheme. Leinster have to rest their internationals so they don't burn out he doesn't opt out. That's why Irish players can play until their mid 30s (has also enable fresh players like McFadden and D Kearney become test players) and Sexton is the only test player playing outside of Ireland. Certain coaches picking him while injured or back early hasn't helped him.

Great post Lion.

LDU,this is what I have been led to believe.Surprised me,as I can remember the era of Edwards,JPR et al. Sad to see.

But regular season footy wasn't a priority for O'driscoll. He didn't do the donkey work, and play all the regular season, he was injured or rotated, he turned it on in the games that mattered finals,Grand finals, but regular season he was pretty casual or oblivious. He basically had a marquee attitude to his playing career, he turned it on in the big games, but the regular season was for other squad members. He was all about grand finals in Heiniekan cups, playing for ireland, and lions matches.