A lot has changed in fifteen years. Brian O'Driscoll was a fresh-faced 22-year-old who had just been catapulted into Irish sporting stardom. It had been a year since his hat-trick helped Ireland beat France in Paris for the first time in 28 years.
Before the Pro 12 even existed, O'Driscoll was taken on the Lions tour to Australia in 2001. It was a tour that changed everything in Irish rugby. The Irish guys on tour had their eyes opened to professionalism, and the rugby world had their eyes opened to the talents of O'Driscoll.
Then the Gabba happened. The try that catapulted O'Driscoll into superstardom across the rugby world. Taking a ball on half-way, the Irish centre broke through the Australian defence, before a stunning side-step got him past the full-back Matt Burke, and he just managed to get over the line just as Joe Roff tackled him.
And know we have a pretender to the crown according to WalesOnline who have called this terrifyingly similar to O'Driscoll's effort fifteen years ago.
Scarlets U18 winger Ryan Conbeer produced something very similar against the Ospreys U18 in the Wales U18 regional championships. From taking some medium quality ball from the left, breaking through the defence, a very O'Driscoll like step, and being tackled as he goes over the line:
The only difference is that Conbeer had an extra 20 metres to cover before he got over the half-way line compared to O'Driscoll.
Don't believe us? Any excuse to watch that O'Driscoll try again:
See Also: Watch Fiji's Try Of The Tournament Over And Over Again
See Also: Garry Ringrose Gets BOD Of Approval For Part In Wonderful Leinster Try Vs Munster
Picture credit; Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE
