An obvious choice perhaps, but one can’t ignore the contribution of Ireland’s greatest ever player to the greatest competition in club rugby.
For years, Leinster had to live in the shadow of their southern neighbours when it came to their status in European rugby, until a recent blitz saw the Blues win three out of four Heineken Cups with the result that only Toulouse – long recognised as the aristocrats of club rugby in the northern hemisphere – have a more illustrious record in the Heineken Cup than the current champions.
And while it would be completely wrong and unfair to attribute Leinster’s recent success to one man, Brian O’Driscoll’s impact on Leinster’s magnificent run is as profound as his effect on the international side for well over a decade.
BOD started in the Heineken Cup way back in the 1999-00 season scoring two tries in six games, a record he would maintain and even improve upon over the next decade and more.
BOD doing what he does best against Stade Francais in 1999
Given their present dominance, it’s hard to imagine now but Leinster struggled to make an impact in the Heineken Cup early on, progressing from the pool stages for the first time in the 2001/02 season.
They became regular fixtures in the last eight in the years that followed, but inconsistency plagued them at every turn, a trait that was brought home to roost in galling fashion in 2006 when they were hammered by Munster in Lansdowne Road having beaten Toulouse on their own turf in the quarter-finals.
Despite Leinster’s erratic performances O’Driscoll consistently produced the goods, but he craved the success he had tasted with Ireland in the mid 00’s and would have cast jealous glances at his international colleagues in the Munster set-up who had reached four Heineken Cup Finals and won two of them, in 2006 and 2008.
It was probably around 2008 that O’Driscoll was first subject to doubts about his ability. Some suggested that he had lost his zip and a yard of pace, while others worried about the state of his body after years of putting it on the line fearlessly with little concern for the consequences.
True to his character, O’Driscoll hit back with probably his best ever year individually and certainly his best as far as silverware in concerned in 2009 as he inspired Ireland to Grand Slam success and Leinster to their first Heineken Cup triumph.
Prior to that season, O’Driscoll stepped down as Leinster captain and although no less influential a figure on the pitch, the absence of the extra responsibility seemed to inspire him as he played a crucial role in the knockout stages, with some heroic defence in the ‘Bloodgate’ quarter-final against Bath, a try against Munster in the semi-final at Croke Park and a drop goal in the final against Leicester at Murrayfield.
Considering that he had been the key factor in Ireland’s Grand Slam success in the same year, it was a travesty that O’Driscoll missed out on the IRB Player of the Year award, which instead went to Richie McCaw again.
Still, awards have never been in short supply as far as O’Driscoll is concerned and last year he was voted on the ERC Dream Team, marking the 15th year anniversary of the Heineken Cup, while with 31 tries, he is only one behind the top scorer in the history of the competition, Ireland’s bête noire himself, Vincent Clerc.
The last of those came in the quarter-final against Cardiff last year, a tremendous team effort that saw O’Driscoll perfectly timing a run to get on the end of a rehearsed move, as he has done so often over the years.
Few gave O’Driscoll a chance of featuring in the competition at all last season due to shoulder surgery he underwent in the aftermath of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but then it wasn’t the first time he has proven the critics wrong.
They’re now saying that next summer’s Lions Tour is set to be his swansong, but on the evidence of what we’ve seen in recent times, there’s no reason why he should hang up his boots then either.
Ireland haven’t seen the last of O’Driscoll yet, nor have Leinster, nor has the Heineken Cup and for that we should be grateful.
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