12:20pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Robin Davey in New Zealand
WALES coach Warren Gatland has paid tribute to rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll who wins his 100th cap when he leads Ireland out in tomorrow’s Six Nations clash against Wales at Croke Park.
The former Lions captain, now 31, is arguably the most illustrious player in the tournament, renowned for his electrifying running in particular, and with Ireland chasing back-to-back Triple Crowns it is bound to be an emotional occasion.
Gatland takes great pride in being the coach who blooded O’Driscoll in international when he was with Ireland at the turn of the century.
“It’s a fantastic achievement for him and hopefully I’ll be one of the first to congratulate him. I gave him his first cap when he was a youngster and I’ve seen how he’s developed over the years, playing for Ireland and for the Lions,” said Gatland.
“I know how critical he is as a captain, a leader and an experienced player for Ireland.
“In the past couple of seasons he has got himself in good shape and is playing some great rugby.
“There was probably a season or so when he wasn’t at his best – he’d admit that himself – but he’s on top of his game at the moment and is really important for Ireland, a great catalyst for them.”
Gatland has challenged his centres James Hook and Jamie Roberts to rise to the occasion, though recognising that the pair are still relatively inexperienced.
“O’Driscoll is a great benchmark for them,” he said. “We have to realise there’s a lot of expectation on our two centres, but they are only 23 (Roberts) and 24, pretty young to be forming a new combination at Test level.
“They haven’t played a lot of games together and we just have to give that partnership a bit of time to develop.”
Wales outside half Stephen Jones, who wins his 87th cap tomorrow and is a Lions colleague of O’Driscoll, has also paid his own tribute to the Irish captain.
“It’s a great achievement, he’s a brilliant player who also puts in the hard work on the pitch,” he said.
“He looks after his body well and he’s the complete rugby player, it would be a big mistake to write him off, you can’t afford to give him space, he’s a very good communicator and he’ll look at our defensive patterns.”
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