Coltish O'Driscoll oozed class right from the start

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

- Brendan Gallagher

What’s happening here?

This is the first real action picture of Brian O’Driscoll I can recall and for me it remains the best. The date is October 2, 1999 and a promising but largely unknown young Ireland centre called Brian O’Driscoll is making his World Cup debut against the USA at a half-empty Lansdowne Road with most of the punters saving their money for the big match against Australia in a week’s time.

Ireland despatched a useful Eagles side 53-8 with Keith Wood grabbing all the headlines with his world-record equalling four tries for a forward. O’Driscoll, though, also caught the eye, scoring a try and making others.

Here he is leaving Dan Lyle – the Eagles greatest ever player – for dead on the break.

What’s the story behind the picture?

Irish rugby had been stuck in a rut. Big, strong, fiery, units up front who competed for an hour before their lack of fitness kicked in but a limited back division of honest toilers although fly-half David Humphreys was a very decent goal kicker and underrated attacker. The team badly needed galvanising, they needed some x factor behind the scrum.

Word was filtering down about a young kid from Blackrock College who had moved to UCD where Leinster spotted him. Brian O’Driscoll was his name and in 1998 he was the key man when Ireland won the U19 World Cup in France, to this day still Ireland’s only ever global rugby title.