Brian O’Driscoll revealed that former England flanker and Rugby World Cup winner, Richard Hill, was the ‘hardest’ player that he had ever played against.
BOD played both with and against the flanker in the early stages of the Irishman’s career.
They played with each other during the 2001 Lions Tour of Australia, which as we all know, was where O’Driscoll announced himself on the world stage.
“Richard Hill, England No.6 that won the World Cup in 2003.
“He was a brilliant teammate but he made that team tick, he was the unsung hero in that world cup win.
“He was hard! I always liked playing with guys that were nails in the team, that really stood up and never took a backwards step.”
But when questioned on what was the toughest tackle he ever had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of.
“Jonny Wilkinson…I couldn’t walk for two weeks!”
JOIN THE RUCK:
Brian O’Driscoll leaves Tom Curry out of his 2021 Lions XV
BACK-THREE
Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Anthony Watson (England), Jonny May (England);
“I’m going to go with Hogg instead of Liam Willimas at full-back, you are not losing a lot either way.” – O’Driscoll said on his call at fullback.
CENTRES
Jonathan Davies (Wales), Manu Tuilagi (England)
“Garry Ringrose is going to need a huge, huge year but the hard ground could suit him, but I think Jonathan Davies is the man in possession. I think that’s working in his favour even though he hasn’t shown any form because he hasn’t played since the World Cup.” – O’Driscoll said.