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‘I'm available for Hong Kong’: Brian O’Driscoll nearly went down the sevens path

By Finn Morton
(PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll rose to legendary status throughout his decorated international career, which could’ve started very differently in the late 1990s.

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At just 20 years of age, a young Brian O’Driscoll was handed his first Test cap by Ireland coach Warren Gatland during their two-match tour of Australia in 1999.

O’Driscoll was named at outside centre ahead of the first Test, and was set to come up against the formattable Wallabies midfield pairing of Tim Horan and Dan Herbert.

Playing in the coveted green jersey for the first time at senior level, the rising star showed glimpses of brilliance throughout an otherwise forgettable night for Irish rugby.

Ireland were beaten at Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium 46-10, but a legend was born – and the rest, as they say, was history.

But things could’ve been a bit different for the future World Rugby Hall of Famer.

O’Driscoll almost announced himself to the rugby world at the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens in the late 1990s, before “getting plucked from obscurity” to play fifteens for Ireland.

In an exclusive interview with RugbyPass at last month’s World Series leg in Hong Kong China, O’Driscoll revealed how close he came to playing at the spiritual home of sevens.

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“I probably would’ve come to Hong Kong in the late 90s except I got capped as a 20-year-old, probably before my time,” O’Driscoll told RugbyPass.

“I won’t feel hard done by because I managed to get to play for my nation as a 20-year-old, but the experiences that some of my contemporaries and peers would’ve had in those late 90s were epic.

“In the late 90s when I was just coming out of school. It wasn’t the series but the Hong Kong Sevens was still a huge event.

“It was still a big thing, even though the game was turning professional, that was the amateur part of it and it was always known as the fun element in international rugby.

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“I would have put my hand up going, ‘I’m available for Hong Kong Sevens for sure.’ Then I ended up getting plucked from obscurity to play my first Test.

“That was the end of my sevens career before it even began.

“I do love it, and I do think because it’s at the Olympics… that is the opportunity in China and Germany and America, that is the access point into the growth of the game.

“If we could get America to win an Olympic gold medal, I think that would do wonders.”

The Hong Kong Sevens brough up an historic milestone last month, as the Women’s World Series made a stop at the famous venue for the first time ever.

As part of the momentous occasion, HSBC held a number of activities at the event to promote the growth of the sport.

O’Driscoll was one of their ambassadors at the esteemed event, and has been involved in HSBC’s World of Opportunity Programme.

Along with the likes of Springboks great Bryan Habana and Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Danielle ‘Nolli’ Waterman, O’Driscoll has shown kids that there’re opportunities in rugby that go beyond the field of play.

“I suppose as players we were the lucky ones that got to play, and many people that are interested in sport, it’s their dream to be an athlete, but only a small portion of people ultimately get to achieve that goal and that outcome,” he added, speaking as an ambassador on behalf of HSBC.

“I remember growing up, never thinking of myself as being a professional rugby player, I thought I was going to be Jerry Maguire.

“When you’re growing up and you’re a teenager, a lot of it is just uncertainty about what’s available and the roles that are there.

“Even now, the world has changed with social media and the promotion of the game on it to younger generations, so there are a multitude of roles that we’ve been showcasing over the course of the sevens weekend.

“You look at everybody, every person that has an involvement in these weekends, they don’t fortuitously just come together. These are perfectly structured.

“It’s a really integral part of what we do as ambassadors to be able to not just promote the playing side of it but the general feeling around sports.

“We’re ambassadors for the game that’s given us lot ourselves so a lot of what we do is about future proofing the next generation.

“We have been given so many more highs than lows over the course of our playing days so we’re big promoters in the game.

“I suppose I do feel a responsibility to… show the upside, show the values of the game.”

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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