Remembering Brian O’Driscoll’s try against Australia for the 2001 British and Irish Lions
Brian O’Driscoll on his way to a wonder try against Australia during the 2001 British and Irish Lions tour down under
Credit: Matt Browne/Sports File
The 2001 tour of Australia was a case of what could have been for the Lions as the tourists came close to a second successive series victory.
Britain and Ireland’s best were considered underdogs with the Wallabies world champions and boasting a strong line-up.
However, in the opening test, the Lions produced one of their most stunning ever performances as they battered Australia by a score of 29-13 at the Gabba.
In front of what looked to be a home crowd thanks to overwhelming British and Irish support in Brisbane, one man stole the show with a piece of individual brilliance that lit up the game.
That man was Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll and The Flanker has opened up the vault to pay homage to BOD.
Tour not smooth sailing
Kiwi Graham Henry was named as the first overseas coach in Lions history having earned an impressive reputation with Wales - but his appointment was not met with universal popularity.
The Lions began the tour by putting more than 200 points on their first two opponents but soon after the trip threatened to unravel.
Rumours of discontent in the camp were rife before newspaper columns and player diaries had the potential to ruin the tour.
Dawson wrote in a diary published by the Daily Telegraph that Henry, a former headmaster, treated players like
children and ran a harsh regime.
Matt Dawson and Austin Healey with head coach Graham Henry after critiquing his coaching style
Credit: Andrew Cornaga
Austin Healey also had a column in the Guardian where he launched an extraordinary tirade on the Australian population and called Wallaby second-rower Justin Harrison “a plodder”
Tour manager Donal Lenihan then openly admitted there had been a rift in the camp over the demanding fixture schedule.
A midweek 28–25 loss to Australia A may have set alarm bells ringing before the First Test, but the Lions rallied to produce a stunning performance against the shellshocked Aussies.
Scrappy ball allows BOD some space
As they came out from the sheds at halftime, the Lions held a decent 12-3 lead thanks to scores from Jason Robinson and Wales wing Dafydd James.
However, there is work still left to be done for the Lions to take a vital 1-0 lead in the series.
Just seconds after the kickoff, centre Rob Henderson receives a flat pass from Wilkinson and quickly offloads to O’Driscoll.
The pass is slightly behind him and the ball spills loose as he is flattened by opposite man Dan Herbert.
Iain Balshaw, on as a sub for injured fullback Matt Perry, gathers the ball and sets up a maul that sucks in gold shirted defenders.
Rob Howley whips the ball out and Wilkinson, who with his lightning hands, gives the ball onto BOD who still has two defenders ahead of him and a hell of a lot to do.
The stage is set for one of the greatest tries in British and Irish Lions history.
“Brian O’Driscoll! Oh you beauty!”
From the moment BOD receives the ball from a young Jonny Wilkinson to when he goes over for the try, it is eight seconds of unbridled brilliance.
The Irish centre targets the inside shoulder of Nathan Grey, leaving them both trailing in his wake as scrambling hooker Jeremy Paul is left clutching at his coattails.
Ironically, Grey is the current Australia defence coach. You can bet if any of his current charges get beat so convincingly, they would be getting a roasting in the dressing room.
Although he has broken the line, O’Driscoll looks around for potential support in red shirts. With none apparent, he has three real options:
Chip over fullback Matt Burke and try to gather
Try to go through Burke and take contact, allowing teammates to get in support
Go round Burke, one of the finest fullbacks in the modern era
Naturally, he chooses the latter with an outrageous body swerve that jinks him past a flailing Burke. Pinning his ears back, he holds off the charging gold shirts desperately trying to get back to him.
Australia winger Joe Roff is gaining, gaining, gaining all the time. If there were a few more yards of turf, he would have stopped one of the all-time great Lions tries.
BOD, not renowned for his pace, just about has enough gas to fall over the line and send the travelling supporters into raptures.
In now iconic commentary, Sky Sports Miles Harrison screams as he tumbles over the line: “Brian O’Driscoll! Ohhhhh you beauty! That is incredible!”
A brilliant First Test performance ends in series defeat
A week later, the Lions led again at halftime in Melbourne by 11-6 and looked destined to write themselves into rugby history.
However, this great Australian World Cup winning team of the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s came roaring back to cement their place as one of the best of all time.
The Lions let their foot of the gas in the second 40 minutes as the Wallabies racked up 29 second-half points at the Colonial Stadium to level the series.
A week later, the Wallabies would edge a thrilling final Test 29-23 in Sydney to steal a series that the tourists had seemed in total control of 120 minutes previously.
Lions fans could still look back to the memories of that great O’Driscoll try under the lights at the Gabba to soothe the pain, where an Irish genius announced himself to the rugby world.
