Ireland’s talismanic centre, 31 year old Brian O’Driscoll, will play in Saturdays opening Autumn International fixture against South Africa after the player was declared fit following successful training sessions on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
O’Driscoll has not played since injuring his hamstring on October 9th in a Heineken Cup match for Leinster.
This match will be of special significance to Irish rugby fans as it is the first to be played at their famous Lansdowne Road stadium since the ground was completely rebuilt.
Speaking about his return to fitness and the new ground, O’Driscoll said:
“We’ve enjoyed our time at Croke Park but now we want to make some memories at the new stadium,”
“It would have been disappointing to miss the first game at the new Aviva.”
South Africa visited Ireland last November and found the boot of Jonathan Sexton to be too good as the fly half produced every one of the 15 points Ireland chalked up that day en route to a good 15-10 home win.
Sexton starts again this weekend, in place of O’Driscoll’s long-time teammate, stand-off Ronan O’Gara.
Ireland v South Africa takes place on Saturday 6 November at 17:30 GMT.
In This Story: Ireland
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George’s Channel.
Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2016, 4.8 million people live in the Republic of Ireland, and 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.
A strong Irish culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language. The island’s culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, and golf.
South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent, marked by several distinct ecosystems. Inland safari destination Kruger National Park is populated by big game. The Western Cape offers beaches, lush winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl, craggy cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forest and lagoons along the Garden Route, and the city of Cape Town, beneath flat-topped Table Mountain.
