JOHN EALES, the 1999 World Cup winning Australian captain and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby, was nicknamed ‘Nobody’ by his team because ‘Nobody’s Perfect’. Brian O’Driscoll has that sort of quality.
In Paris before his last International, accolades and thank yous from players all over the world were played on the big screen to a packed stadium. I do not recall this being done for any other top sportsman in any sport anywhere in the world.
In my 50 odd years playing and watching sport, particularly rugby, I don’t recall any other top sportsperson in any sport anywhere finishing their career in quite such a planned or structured manner or with the dignity that Brian O’Driscoll has displayed. His story is a truly remarkable one by any standards. His impact on us as a nation beyond pure sporting prowess is worth considering.
While his achievements as a rugby player are legion and well established, I would like to reflect on what his legacy will be, particularly on the young Irish people who will shape the national psyche of the future. In a day when many people with little or no ability can become stars and all you need to be an expert is a microphone, there are still a tiny few who achieve true greatness. Brian is amongst that tiny few.
What Brian Cody and the Kilkenny hurlers bring to hurling O’Driscoll brings to the international sporting arena. I believe that we have an incredible amount of talent in Ireland but that it doesn’t always get developed.
This starts with our own expectations of success. Look at the achievements of our boxers in recent times. They have literally gone toe to toe with the best in the world from much bigger nations and been successful. The investment in coaching and facilities could only have happened because somebody decided to change their expectations in terms of success.
When we Irish go abroad we seem to take achievement in our stride. Achieving it from within our own society seems to foster a different mindset. Establishing international recognition operating from Ireland is a rarity and yet it shouldn’t be. Moreover, to achieve what O’Driscoll has achieved is a rarity no matter where one is from.
When one thinks of the really great sports personalities of all time they all have one thing in common. They are great men or women just as much as great athletes. I think of Jack Nicklaus and Pele. They had great character and values. They didn’t need rules and regulations to keep them honest. It was just who they were. Over the last half century, I can think of only a handful who fall into this category. Ed Moses the great American 400 metre hurdler is another who comes to mind. These people won more than most and yet always won with dignity. You never think of them as ‘win at all cost’ types.
What I’m saying is that character, dignity and integrity are all part of the makeup of these people and their special talents are just the conduit. O’Driscoll is such a man. One of the best compliments I heard paid to him was from Ieuan Evans the former Welsh and Lions Star when he said that “Brian O’Driscoll has reinvented himself at least five times over a 14 year career at the top”.
It takes these qualities to be able to do that. We shouldn’t underestimate the respect that O’Driscoll has earned from the very best of his peers across the world.
There are those who say “we (the Irish) punch above our weight” a phrase that I hate but more importantly one that says a lot about our national psyche. It implies that because we are a small nation we shouldn’t have the same expectation of success or achievement.
There is the expectation of success and then there is how to deal with success when it happens. The Irish rugby team should have four or five Championships/Grand Slams over the last 14 years. They only have two. During that same time Wales should have had one or two and they have five.
Ireland had the superior players by far over that term. This is partly to do with the national psyche. We are all products of the environment we inhabit. It is not just about the players or indeed the coaches but the fans, the IRFU, the press – everybody, we are all responsible.
You often hear people say winning is an attitude or winning is a habit. Many people say it. Few understand it unless they have experienced it. Winning and the expectation of success are closely aligned.
Brian O’Driscoll never thought he punched above his weight. He always backed himself and was never surprised when he succeeded. Yet he carried it with a humility and respect as did Jack Nicklaus and Pele. I would like to think that one of his legacies would be that attitudes towards making the most of our talents and abilities will develop and flourish in part as a result of his achievements
Will younger generations view their expectation of success differently as a result of the example that Brian O’Driscoll has set for all of us? Whether this is consciously or subliminally I hope so.
Emmet O’Rafferty, former second row forward for Leinster and chairman of Top Security which runs a security business in Ireland, the UK and South Africa.
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