Brian O'Driscoll fit for Heineken Cup final – Rugby News Update
Brian O'Driscoll, the 33-year-old Irish and Leinster centre has overcome his injury and will start the all important Heineken Cup match against Ulster at Twickenham.
Leinster were sweating over O’Driscoll's fitness, but he has said that there was never a doubt in his head about missing the game.
Earlier in the week, O'Driscoll told the Irish Times, "I went and had a little trim of the cartilage done on Friday morning. I suppose in my head it was never an option not to be playing this weekend. Recovery has gone well over the weekend. You'd
want to have a limb falling off really to not play in the Heineken Cup final.”
There is a capacity crowd of 82,000 expected at the home of English rugby for the first all Irish Heineken Cup final. Leinster is gunning for their second title in as many years, against their RaboDirect PRO12 League opponents. They have the upper hand against
their rivals, beating them twice in the regular season, home and away, but in a pressure match such as the final, form goes out of the window. At the end of the match an Irish team will lift the Heineken Cup for the fifth time in seven years.
Speaking about the week leading up to the final, O’Driscoll spoke about his preparation, "A big part of weeks like this is about resting up and keeping your feet up on the couch. Sometimes you feel guilty for doing that, but that's part of your job: making
sure that you're fully rested and ready for Saturday.”
The 33-year-old is one of the most feared players in rugby with sound attacking and defensive abilities, and most importantly, having experience of big matches.
O’Driscoll made his international debut in 1999 against Australia at Brisbane, on June 12, 1999. Since then he has played 117 tests for Ireland and holds the record for scoring the most number of tries for his country.
Having a player such as O’Driscoll for such an important game can be the difference between winning and losing.
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