The Brian O'Driscoll thread

Amazotheamazing

Can people just dump all the rubbish they keep posting about O'Driscoll in this thread and stop restarting the same bloody debate on every single thread in this forum?

Honestly, how does every single thread end up with a variation of whether a) he's still up to it, b) whether he should captain Ireland and/or the Lions, c) whether he'll even make the Lions etc etc.

Can people please just let it lie on every other thread?

Twin-go

IMHO

1. Brian O'Driscoll should not be the Irish Captain
2. Brian O'Driscoll should be in the Irish team when fully fit
3. Brian O'Driscoll should be in the Lions Squad but I don't think he'll make the test side.

Just my 2 cents.

RugbyFanatic

O'Driscoll is not the same player but still one of our best players.

O'Driscoll will definitely travel on the lions and will more than likely be in the first 15.

O'Driscoll for whatever reason, seems to have a lot of haters and at times gets undeserved and very occasionally malicious criticisms.

O'Driscoll will be considered one of world rugby's finest players for decades to come.

O'Driscoll in his prime was far, far better than Tipoki and Mafi ever were and ever will be.

O'Driscoll is being impeeded by his teammates (RWC to use just one example) and poor backline coaching.

John_C

O'Driscoll kicked the ball 5 times last weekend. 4 of them were very good kicks and one of them wasn't bad but was very short any easy to deal with.

Kicks from O'Driscoll have led to 2 of Leinster's tries in this years 'ken

RuggieBear

*shakes head sadly*

John_C

John_C wrote: »

O'Driscoll kicked the ball 5 times last weekend. 4 of them were very good kicks and one of them wasn't bad but was very short any easy to deal with.



Kicks from O'Driscoll have led to 2 of Leinster's tries in this years 'ken

As Matt Williams once said
"Brian O'Driscoll was touched by God to run with the ball not kick it"



As Welsh fan said to me before
"Even if O'Driscoll isnt the same player as he was,I would like to thank him on behalf of every rugby fan for when he made playing rugby look like an act of God"

Peter B

I would love to see O'Driscoll wear the "12" shirt and play 12 for Ireland. The advertising campaign is over!

Except a 12 has to be able to kick and he cant.

After what he has done for ireland over the years he can keep whatever number he likes imo.Why does it matter?
Confuses opposition if anything.

Peter B

This myth on this board that you have to be able to kick at 12 is rubbish. If you have a decent outhalf you do not need a kicker at 12. Was Rob Henderson or Gordon Darcy able to kick? They were Irelands best 12s I can remember.

Also the Irish team tends not to employ the "Pass it out to No. 12 to kick it". We haven't had to!

Also O'Driscoll has being kicking a lot recently. Some quite well. I would certainly trust him in a position where he will rarely need to kick.

Lastly, I think we should be living in the present and if O'Driscoll is going to play as a 12 he should wear the 12 shirt. Just because he has always worn the 13 doesn't mean he can't change!

Peter B

Peter B wrote: »

This myth on this board that you have to be able to kick at 12 is rubbish. If you have a decent outhalf you do not need a kicker at 12. Was Rob Henderson or Gordon Darcy able to kick? They were Irelands best 12s I can remember.

Also the Irish team tends not to employ the "Pass it out to No. 12 to kick it". We haven't had to!

Also O'Driscoll has being kicking a lot recently. Some quite well. I would certainly trust him in a position where he will rarely need to kick.

Lastly, I think we should be living in the present and if O'Driscoll is going to play as a 12 he should wear the 12 shirt. Just because he has always worn the 13 doesn't mean he can't change!

Thats true but look what happens if you dont play a 12 that can kick.The All Blacks put so much pressure on Rog they forced him to run the ball instead of playing his kicking game.They put him out of his comfort zone.

Other teams will have noticed this and will just stick their back 3 very deep and do the same thing.
If they do cop on to this we are ****ed for the 6 nations.
So imo after the All Blacks have exposed this fatal flaw in our setup we do need a kicking 12 eg Wallace.

Paddy Wallace also deserves the 12 jersey anyway

anonymous_joe

Our best player ever...?

twinytwo

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Our best player ever...?

well either him or mike gibson... two of the best to ever play the game
if only they had played at the same time

anonymous_joe

twinytwo wrote: »

well either him or mike gibson... two of the best to ever play the game
if only they had played at the same time

Indeed.

Bias of youth but I never view the pre-professionals in the same light. (Mainly because I wasn't born or too young to appreciate them.)

But he's the best 13 the world's ever produced I reckon. Hard to overstate the impact he had on Irish rugby's popularity. The suffering and pain of wooden spoons that I remember from my childhood gave way to the hat-trick against France, those Lions games... Magnificent player.

twinytwo

Aliya Bitter Tequila wrote: »

Thats true but look what happens if you dont play a 12 that can kick.The All Blacks put so much pressure on Rog they forced him to run the ball instead of playing his kicking game.They put him out of his comfort zone.

Other teams will have noticed this and will just stick their back 3 very deep and do the same thing.
If they do cop on to this we are ****ed for the 6 nations.
So imo after the All Blacks have exposed this fatal flaw in our setup we do need a kicking 12 eg Wallace.

Paddy Wallace also deserves the 12 jersey anyway

You seem to forget this fact.. it was the all blacks that did this not wales or england. They tore us a new asshole as they did eveyone else except munster. The other 6N's team will have enough of their own problems without trying to put rog under pressure and even if they do try this it only going to leave space for darce and Bod as they arnt good/fast enough to shut the back line down while trying to put rog under pressure.. i mean if 2 or 3 players went for him and he passed instead of kicked??

Tim Robbins

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Can people just dump all the rubbish they keep posting about O'Driscoll in this thread and stop restarting the same bloody debate on every single thread in this forum?

BOD is the biggest victim of the anti - Leinster sentiment in the country, possibly because he's an out and out world class player whose a joy to watch and it's hard to slag him on anything that's actually about Rugby as his game near perfect whereas even most world class players have some weakness or other e.g. POC wouldn't be the best at passing the ball.

Every war has its innocent victims. Sadly.

You're going to get these people following Rugby, unless you return back to the days when the sport wasn't big in the country.

Those who are genuinely into the beauty of Rugby appreciate him, no matter where they're from or what team they support.

Amazotheamazing

Tim Robbins wrote: »

BOD is the biggest victim of the anti - Leinster sentiment in the country, possibly because he's an out and out world class player whose a joy to watch and it's hard to slag him on anything that's actually about Rugby as his game near perfect whereas even most world class players have some weakness or other e.g. POC wouldn't be the best at passing the ball.

Every war has its innocent victims. Sadly.

You're going to get these people following Rugby, unless you return back to the days when the sport wasn't big in the country.

Those who are genuinely into the beauty of Rugby appreciate him, no matter where they're from or what team they support.

Agree completely, O'Driscoll is and has always been a class act.

RugbyFanatic

This might sound odd but if BOD was from say Ulster, Connacht or Munster he would probably a lot more respected across the board. The fact that hes a Leinster player will mean he comes under extra scrutiny.

twinytwo

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Agree completely, O'Driscoll is and has always been a class act.

+1

premierstone

RugbyFanatic wrote: »

This might sound odd but if BOD was from say Ulster, Connacht or Munster he would probably a lot more respected across the board. The fact that hes a Leinster player will mean he comes under extra scrutiny.

It doesnt sound odd but it does sound like complete and utter bullsh*t tbh, what province a player is from has nothing to do with it what so ever, Ive seen ROG, POC, DOC etc subjected to torrents of abuse here and in other places, they dont play for Leinster!

To say a Leinster player will come under more scrutiny, what exactly are you basing this on because I seem to remember lately Leinster fans complaining that they dont get enough media attention

Amazotheamazing

RugbyFanatic wrote: »

This might sound odd but if BOD was from say Ulster, Connacht or Munster he would probably a lot more respected across the board. The fact that hes a Leinster player will mean he comes under extra scrutiny.

Apart from a few children on internet sites, I've never met someone who doesn't respect O'driscoll as a player. Infact, even on internet sites, it's a common complaint to say he's not respected when in fact, 99% of the people are saying what a great player he is.

Some people want to get offended on his behalf and they do him no favours, and anyone who doesn't rate him shouldn't be listened to, since they are clearly idiots.

anonymous_joe

premierstone wrote: »

It doesnt sound odd but it does sound like complete and utter bullsh*t tbh, what province a player is from has nothing to do with it what so ever, Ive seen ROG, POC, DOC etc subjected to torrents of abuse here and in other places, they dont play for Leinster!

To say a Leinster player will come under more scrutiny, what exactly are you basing this on because I seem to remember lately Leinster fans complaining that they dont get enough media attention

He's from Leinster which has some clichéd baggage attached to it, as well as being an ex-Rock boy. So a lot of people don't like him for that.

premierstone

anonymous_joe wrote: »

He's from Leinster which has some clichéd baggage attached to it, as well as being an ex-Rock boy. So a lot of people don't like him for that.

Does being from Munster not have cliched baggage attached aswell though, Im not trying to turn this into one of these redic Mun v Lein threads but i think using that as an excuse is pure fiction tbh.

For the record I have nothing but admiration for BOD definitely one of the top 3 if not thee greatest player Ireland has ever produced, for 4-5 years he was the the best offencive centre in the world and in the last few years when the pace lessened (still pretty fast mind you) he has become arguably the best defensive centre in the world (definitely the hardest working and most commited IMO), but seen as this is a general thread on him I will point out the negatives aswell he is not, never has been and never will be a good captain, why people assume that the best player will make the best captain always puzzles me, the only pre-requisite for a potential captain should be that they are guarenteed a starting place when fit and work from there.

anonymous_joe

premierstone wrote: »

Does being from Munster not have cliched baggage attached aswell though, Im not trying to turn this into one of these redic Mun v Lein threads but i think using that as an excuse is pure fiction tbh.

For the record I have nothing but admiration for BOD definitely one of the top 3 if not thee greatest player Ireland has ever produced, for 4-5 years he was the the best offencive centre in the world and in the last few years when the pace lessened (still pretty fast mind you) he has become arguably the best defensive centre in the world (definitely the hardest working and most commited IMO), but seen as this is a general thread on him I will point out the negatives aswell he is not, never has been and never will be a good captain, why people assume that the best player will make the best captain always puzzles me, the only pre-requisite for a potential captain should be that they are guarenteed a starting place when fit and work from there.

I think in relation to Munster, I doubt many people feel strongly about Munster. I couldn't give a fúck. ^^ (In a good way. For the record. :P)

Whereas the whole Ross O'Carroll-Kelly thing is indicative of fairly widespread feelings about those who've gone to private schools in South Dublin. Just the way it is.

RugbyFanatic

anonymous_joe wrote: »

I think in relation to Munster, I doubt many people feel strongly about Munster. I couldn't give a fúck. ^^ (In a good way. For the record. :P)

Whereas the whole Ross O'Carroll-Kelly thing is indicative of fairly widespread feelings about those who've gone to private schools in South Dublin. Just the way it is.

Bingo.

Chucky the tree

O'Driscoll is one of the worst ever irish captains?

outwest

RugbyFanatic wrote: »

This might sound odd but if BOD was from say Ulster, Connacht or Munster he would probably a lot more respected across the board. The fact that hes a Leinster player will mean he comes under extra scrutiny.

if bod was from connacht and maybe even ulster he would'nt have as many caps as he does

RugbyFanatic

outwest wrote: »

if bod was from connacht and maybe even ulster he would'nt have as many caps as he does

Can you name me one Connacht or Ulster player that has criminally been left out of an Irish 15?

outwest

RugbyFanatic wrote: »

Can you name me one Connacht or Ulster player that has criminally been left out of an Irish 15?

i believe pollock should start at seven with wallace at 8,but i bet your going to say that heaslip deserves his place at 8

RugbyFanatic

outwest wrote: »

i believe pollock should start at seven with wallace at 8,but i bet your going to say that heaslip deserves his place at 8

Might want to check over my recent favoured squad posts

*Hint* I didn't include Heaslip in the 15

You were wrong about the above just like your initial point is wrong.

Pollock not starting the first 15 is not a criminal decision at all considering we have Jennings,Leamy,Wallace,Heaslip of which 2 can play 7 and 2 can play 8.

soundsham

maybe if he's not captain of ire this year it may drive him on to have a great year for ireland i think it would, cause he's not been too hot of late

as regards lions not too many world class centres in sco,eng,so will travel to lions defo

hope he doen't get injured again tho..........boy he went on about it

ALH-06

outwest wrote: »

if bod was from connacht and maybe even ulster he would'nt have as many caps as he does

That's a ridiculous comment. BOD played for Ireland before playing regularly for Leinster by the way. From a young age, he was rightly identified as one of the most remarkable talents in world rugby, and if you think being from Connacht or Ulster would make people think differently about that, you're completely deluded. Let's keep the dreaded provincialism out of this thread.

ALH-06

premierstone wrote: »

he is not, never has been and never will be a good captain

I don't think it's your place to rate BODs captaining abilities. Have you or anyone else on this forum ever played on a team that O'Driscoll has captained? How could you possibly know how good / bad a captain he is then?

Likewise, I can't say he's a great captain, but all I'll say is that Gary Ella, Michael Cheika, Eddie O'Sullivan, Clive Woodward and Declan Kidney all seem to disagree with you.

Chucky the tree

ALH-06 wrote: »

I don't think it's your place to rate BODs captaining abilities. Have you or anyone else on this forum ever played on a team that O'Driscoll has captained? How could you possibly know how good / bad a captain he is then?

Likewise, I can't say he's a great captain, but all I'll say is that Gary Ella, Michael Cheika, Eddie O'Sullivan, Clive Woodward and Declan Kidney all seem to disagree with you.

Maybe his results as captain? While the coaches also get the blame I think so of it has to fall on the captain too. BOD's reigin as captain for various different teams all have 1 theme in common and that is that the teams have hugely under-performed when it mattered. He just cant seem to motivate any of the other players it seems. Leinster nearly always underperformed in the HEC. Ireland did the same in the 6nations and the RWC. The lions tour to N was a disaster, while he was injuried for the 3 matches it still looked poor like being a disaster from the pre-game matches.

Chucky the tree

anonymous_joe wrote: »

He's from Leinster which has some clichéd baggage attached to it, as well as being an ex-Rock boy. So a lot of people don't like him for that.

So people dont like Leo cullen cos he's from rock? The south Dublin excuse is b/s I think. Dennis Hickie went to a private south Dublin school and I doubt you find anyone with a bad word to say about him. If your going to put yourself in the media as much as BOD has your going to get abuse for it, no matter where your from.

ALH-06

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Maybe his results as captain? While the coaches also get the blame I think so of it has to fall on the captain too. BOD's reigin as captain for various different teams all have 1 theme in common and that is that the teams have hugely under-performed when it mattered. He just cant seem to motivate any of the other players it seems. Leinster nearly always underperformed in the HEC. Ireland did the same in the 6nations and the RWC. The lions tour to N was a disaster, while he was injuried for the 3 matches it still looked poor like being a disaster from the pre-game matches.

His results as captain? Haha of course! So now we know what Ireland's / Leinster's / Lions' problems have been all these years - it's been BOD's captaincy of course!

What absolute BS! BOD was the only player who turned up in RWC07 - he played his heart out and was the only Irish player to come away with some shred of credibility. He was surrounded by players playing the worst rugby of their careers. And that was his fault?

And you mentioned the Lions tour, during which BOD played a whole 90 seconds. Of course we should blame him for its subsequent failure. Why not?

Leinster were underperforming long before BOD became captain, but seeing as its becoming a theme, let's blame him for that as well. By the way - curiously, they still seem to be underperforming this year, even though BOD is no longer the captain. How strange.

As for the 6N, Ireland has had both success and failure under BOD's captaincy. Everyone seems to be so pro-POC for captain now, but their memories must be short indeed. Remember the POC-led Irish team that squandered that famous victory against France in Croke Park, thus costing Ireland the grandslam in 2007? No leadership was shown during the final, seminal moments of that match. POC himself fumbled the French restart, allowing them the possession that Clerc subsequently scored off. I can't remember a worse moment in recent Irish rugby history. And remember what happened when BOD came back to the Irish team in that same 6N? Ireland 43-13 England. One of the most famous Irish wins of all time.

But you didn't mention these things in your post for some reason.

thehighground

ALH-06 wrote: »

What absolute BS! BOD was the only player who turned up in RWC07 - he played his heart out and was the only Irish player to come away with some shred of credibility. He was surrounded by players playing the worst rugby of their careers. And that was his fault?

He failed to inspire other around him to perform the same way - in fact he lost the plot when he admonished Peter Stringer for an INTERCEPT pass. One sure way to inspire the 13 others on the field!

As for the 6N, Ireland has had both success and failure under BOD's captaincy. Everyone seems to be so pro-POC for captain now, but their memories must be short indeed. Remember the POC-led Irish team that squandered that famous victory against France in Croke Park, thus costing Ireland the grandslam in 2007? No leadership was shown during the final, seminal moments of that match. POC himself fumbled the French restart, allowing them the possession that Clerc subsequently scored off. I can't remember a worse moment in recent Irish rugby history. And remember what happened when BOD came back to the Irish team in that same 6N? Ireland 43-13 England. One of the most famous Irish wins of all time.

But you didn't mention these things in your post for some reason.

You fail to take into account that Ireland was missing its one world class player in BOD himself, who was replaced by a wing playing as a centre.

Also missing was Peter Stringer who has huge experience for these kinds of situations.

It was a miracle they got so close really. I know most Leinster fans who wouldn't be too happy with Shaggy playing in the centre for Leinster, let alone for Ireland.

[Jackass]

When was the last time jesus turned water into wine? Fu*king waist of space, get a new religion!!

Or wait - perspective - he may not be sh*tting some of the greatest tries you will see in your life time from an Irish player (let's forget his little double chip and chase from 50 yards out against the english and 2 time european champions, earls did the same thing a cavan footballer does on any given sunday vs the mighty dragons), but O'Driscoll is still on the list when picking a world XV ... after all his injuries and being marked out of every game and stamped on and punched off the ball and thrown into the ground off the ball....I would say he is still......by a munster mile...the best player to wear the green shirt available.

ALH-06

thehighground wrote: »

He failed to inspire other around him to perform the same way - in fact he lost the plot when he admonished Peter Stringer for an INTERCEPT pass. One sure way to inspire the 13 others on the field!

However you rate BOD as a player or as a captain, no blame, NONE, can be put on his shoulders for the RWC. That's absolutely criminal to do so. That particular incident - you can't rate him on one moment of (very understandable) frustration. Stringer threw a foolish pass and shouldn't have done. Margins are very thin in professional sport and the players know this. That pass killed the game and Ireland's hopes for the tournament.

thehighground wrote: »

You fail to take into account that Ireland was missing its one world class player in BOD himself, who was replaced by a wing playing as a centre.

Also missing was Peter Stringer who has huge experience for these kinds of situations.

It was a miracle they got so close really. I know most Leinster fans who wouldn't be too happy with Shaggy playing in the centre for Leinster, let alone for Ireland.

I'm not attibuting that loss to BOD's absence as captain, I wouldn't dream of it. I was only trying to put into context what other people on these boards are saying with regard POC and BOD's captaining abilities.

Chucky the tree

ALH-06 wrote: »

His results as captain? Haha of course! So now we know what Ireland's / Leinster's / Lions' problems have been all these years - it's been BOD's captaincy of course!

What absolute BS! BOD was the only player who turned up in RWC07 - he played his heart out and was the only Irish player to come away with some shred of credibility. He was surrounded by players playing the worst rugby of their careers. And that was his fault?

So it's just a big conisidence that 3 teams he's captained have failed miserable on the big occassion?

How can he not take some of the blame? His job as captain is to motivate the players which he has constantly failed to do.

ALH-06 wrote: »

And you mentioned the Lions tour, during which BOD played a whole 90 seconds. Of course we should blame him for its subsequent failure. Why not?

Leinster were underperforming long before BOD became captain, but seeing as its becoming a theme, let's blame him for that as well. By the way - curiously, they still seem to be underperforming this year, even though BOD is no longer the captain. How strange.

Did you not see the lions friendly matches? They were awful, they looked leaderless and it showed in the matches. There seemed to be very little team spirit, and it's similiar to Ireland I think.

It was only when Cullen took over when he was injuried for alot of the season that they won the Magners league.

ALH-06 wrote: »

As for the 6N, Ireland has had both success and failure under BOD's captaincy. Everyone seems to be so pro-POC for captain now, but their memories must be short indeed. Remember the POC-led Irish team that squandered that famous victory against France in Croke Park, thus costing Ireland the grandslam in 2007? No leadership was shown during the final, seminal moments of that match. POC himself fumbled the French restart, allowing them the possession that Clerc subsequently scored off. I can't remember a worse moment in recent Irish rugby history. And remember what happened when BOD came back to the Irish team in that same 6N? Ireland 43-13 England. One of the most famous Irish wins of all time.

But you didn't mention these things in your post for some reason.

Why dont you mention what POC has done for Munster instead of picking out 1 match for Ireland? I am not going to rate POC on 1 performance, I'd rather do it on more then that and he's shown for Munster more often then not that he's an excellent captain. You might think beating a **** england team is impressive, I dont.

Chucky the tree

ALH-06 wrote: »

However you rate BOD as a player or as a captain, no blame, NONE, can be put on his shoulders for the RWC. That's absolutely criminal to do so. That particular incident - you can't rate him on one moment of (very understandable) frustration. Stringer threw a foolish pass and shouldn't have done. Margins are very thin in professional sport and the players know this. That pass killed the game and Ireland's hopes for the tournament.



I'm not attibuting that loss to BOD's absence as captain, I wouldn't dream of it. I was only trying to put into context what other people on these boards are saying with regard POC and BOD's captaining abilities.

wtf?

thehighground

ALH-06 wrote: »

However you rate BOD as a player or as a captain, no blame, NONE, can be put on his shoulders for the RWC. That's absolutely criminal to do so. That particular incident - you can't rate him on one moment of (very understandable) frustration. Stringer threw a foolish pass and shouldn't have done. Margins are very thin in professional sport and the players know this. That pass killed the game and Ireland's hopes for the tournament.

I don't blame BOD for the RWC disaster. That was all ROG and Peter Stringer's fault

That's the problem - everyone was looking for a scapegoat. It should be collective blame (or praise). Its a team sport. BOD is the captain. He takes on the responsibility to inspire other to do great things. They haven't performed great things when he is captain. (BOD has performed great things though as a player). He is a fantastic rugby player.

I'm not attibuting that loss to BOD's absence as captain, I wouldn't dream of it. I was only trying to put into context what other people on these boards are saying with regard POC and BOD's captaining abilities.

Well, its thrown up a lot that if BOD was on the pitch we would have won. I happen to think we would, not because of his leadership skills, but because of his rugby playing skills.

John_C

thehighground wrote: »

That's the problem - everyone was looking for a scapegoat. It should be collective blame (or praise). Its a team sport. BOD is the captain. He takes on the responsibility to inspire other to do great things. They haven't performed great things when he is captain.

We shouldn't scapegoat any single player ... it was BOD's fault.

anonymous_joe

Chucky the tree wrote: »

So people dont like Leo cullen cos he's from rock? The south Dublin excuse is b/s I think. Dennis Hickie went to a private south Dublin school and I doubt you find anyone with a bad word to say about him. If your going to put yourself in the media as much as BOD has your going to get abuse for it, no matter where your from.

BOD's more visible than any.

Let's face it, almost anyone with an interest in rugby in this country went to a private school. Lots of people resent that. For that reason, BOD, as the most visible of all Irish rugby players, who lived up to all the stereotypes... Of course he's unpopular.

Chucky the tree

anonymous_joe wrote: »

BOD's more visible than any.

Let's face it, almost anyone with an interest in rugby in this country went to a private school. Lots of people resent that. For that reason, BOD, as the most visible of all Irish rugby players, who lived up to all the stereotypes... Of course he's unpopular.

Going with an attention seeking supermodel didnt help his cause either to be fair. I certainly dont think it's because he went to a private school. I just think people tend to dislike people who are always in the media and BOD from his relationships/his book-moaning about Umaga/advertisements etc is bearing the brunt of that rather then because he went to a private school.

anonymous_joe

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Going with an attention seeking supermodel didnt help his cause either to be fair. I certainly dont think it's because he went to a private school. I just think people tend to dislike people who are always in the media and BOD from his relationships/his book-moaning about Umaga/advertisements etc is bearing the brunt of that rather then because he went to a private school.

Perhaps so, but I'm judging my comments on those made by people who don't come from what would be called a traditional rugby background.

He certainly, as Ireland's first high profile rugby played, did became a bona fide celebritiy which is never popular.

Diamondmaker

Is it just me or did the tone of the whole thread change when a certain individual turned up with the usual, expected inflamatory comments.

Well at least for once it can all be kept here and wont ruin other thread.

No point debating here, the world rugby public think highly of him and every coach that he has ever played for has thought the same. The upcoming Lions tour wil again cinfrim this and DK will again confrim this by slecting him.

If one coach, just one thought he was worth dropping you may give some of the nay sayers some credence, but the professionals and his peers think highly of him so If a few random punters, anomously posting on a forum, dont agree, it does not really matter, who are they to judge?

RugbyFanatic

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Going with an attention seeking supermodel didnt help his cause either to be fair. I certainly dont think it's because he went to a private school. I just think people tend to dislike people who are always in the media and BOD from his relationships/his book-moaning about Umaga/advertisements etc is bearing the brunt of that rather then because he went to a private school.

You see that just doesn't wash with me. Who cares if he went out with a model thats no one's business but his and if your trying to claim one of the world's most famous rugby players went out with a model for extra attention thats bull****.


As for writting a book and moaning well a lot of Irish players have done that about far less petty stuff than nearly having their neck broken on what was supposed to be the pinnacle of their career it was his autobiography ffs and you don't expect him to talk about one of the biggest inciddents of his career?

As for advertisements it still doesn't wash with me why doesn't POC get the same abuse for doing Lucozade?? or ROG for lucozade, gillette, addidas? The fact is nearly every big, established name in Irish rugby does advertising and I would argue there are players that do far more than BOD yet still BOD gets abuse for it.

Its all down to this D4, private school going stereotype and its unfortunate to be honest. From listening to BOD over the years and from all accounts of people that do know him he is supposed to be a very down to earth, easy going individual.

Slagging BOD has nothing to do with what you listed above and everything to do with demographics. Wait for a few years down the line when Luke Fitzgerald or anyone with a South Dublin accent starts to talk more to the media etc. and the random punter starts to hear them and you will see the same happen. I Guarantee it.


Do you honestly think calling Leinster ladyboys is to do with how they are playing or do you think its to do with soft, posh boys stereotype I referred to?


The sooner this ****e ends the better.

premierstone

RugbyFanatic wrote: »

You see that just doesn't wash with me. Who cares if he went out with a model thats no one's business but his and if your trying to claim one of the world's most famous rugby players went out with a model for extra attention thats bull****.

Same reason that the majority of people on here are dismissive of Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani in fairness im not sayin its right but its a fact and has nothing to do with private schools, Dublin 4 etc.

RugbyFanatic

premierstone wrote: »

Same reason that the majority of people on here are dismissive of Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani in fairness im not sayin its right but its a fact and has nothing to do with private schools, Dublin 4 etc.

Gavin Henson and Cipriani are two completely different beasts.

The former admitted using fake tan, hair spray, waxing his legs and missed trainings and was photographed on the lash days before games whilst the later was regularly spotted out drinking till all hours and causing trouble.

SJPRogue

When it comes to rugby, BOD ROCKS!

I went to a private rugby school. Hated it. Hated the rugby players. think that as a person BOD has little personality and always says the right PC thing for the media. I've seen dozens like him.

Still, when it comes to rugby, BOD ROCKS & ALWAYS HAS ROCKED & WILL ALWAYS WILL CONTINUE TO ROCK!

old boy

he has to be one of the best ireland has produced, one time one of the best in the world, he was a great player, unfortunately he is not the player he was, which in my opinion is where this arguement starts and finishes, some people are of the opinion that he is still as good as in 2001, this is impossible, age, training, knocks, etc he is still playing reasonable well, the way the game has gone and his lack of speed over the first five yards is hampering him, perhaps kidney can come up with one play (set piece) in each game to release him, or someone to be released by him to give us a seven pointer.