Brendan Gallagher: A belting then BOD became the scourge of England

Brian O’Driscoll has been waging war on England since his Six Nations debut in 2000 and although there have been highs and lows he will end his campaign against them at Twickenham hugely in credit. Indeed, after 14 years at the battlefront, with power to add on Saturday, BOD’s total of eight victories against England has only ever been bettered by JPR Williams (11) and Gareth Edwards and Dan Carter, who both have ten apiece. Brendan Gallagher charts a roller-coaster ride against the men in white.
THE GOOD
2001: Won 20-14 at Lansdowne Road: The Foot and Mouth game after the Six Nations had been badly disrupted in February and March by an outbreak of the disease. Ireland had three matches left to play in October and, after getting thumped by Scotland, beat Wales in Cardiff and awaited England with anticipation, especially O’Driscoll and Keith Wood after touring with so many English Lions just a few months earlier.
England had been brilliant when the tournament started but were now tired and, perhaps, complacent. Martin Johnson was unavailable so Matt Dawson captained but a Wood try and an extraordinary try-saving tap tackle from Peter Stringer on Dan Luger led Ireland home for a famous win.
2004: Won 19-13 at Twickenham: Payback day for O’Driscoll and Ireland after three thumpings in the previous four encounters. It had seemed business as usual for newly-crowned World champions England after big victories in Italy and Scotland and they received a rapturous reception when they returned to Twickenham where they had not lost a Six Nations games since 1999.
A lap of honour was indicated but Ireland, with O’Driscoll now installed as captain, had other ideas and quarried out a superb upset win, their skipper’s long pass to Tyrone Howe creating Girvan Dempsey’s match-clinching try
2005: Won 19-13 at Lansdowne Road:  O’Driscoll was at the height of his blonde beach boy phase in 2005 but generally the season was a wipe-out. Heineken Cup disappointment with Leinster, Six Nations disappointment with Ireland and a shoulder dislocation after 41 seconds of the First Lions Test against New Zealand.
The one saving grace was a sweet victory over England. Ireland had lived dangerously in the first half and coach Andy Robinson will swear to this day that a perfect cross-field kick from Charlie Hodgson to Mark Cueto was actually the try of the season. Instead it was disallowed for offside. In the 57th minute O’Driscoll scored with a clever run down the left-hand touchline after Geordan Murphy had dummied his way through and Ireland were on their way.
2006: Won 28-24 at Twickenham: O’Driscoll led Ireland to a second Triple Crown, right, in three years with another satisfying win courtesy of a dramatic 78th minute winner from Shane Horgan after O’Driscoll had led a last-ditch breakout from Ireland, latching on to Ronan O’Gara’s chip and making acres of ground up the middle to create Ireland’s final attacking platform. England had time to restart and a degree of panic was evident in Ireland ranks before O’Driscoll somehow managed to win turnover ball at a ruck and Peter Stringer hoofed the ball into the stands.
2007: Won 43-13 at Croke Park: This was meant to be Ireland’s long awaited Grand Slam under Eddie O’Sullivan but two weeks earlier Ireland clutched defeat from the jaws of victory against France at Croke Park and their dreams were in shatters. But this was England at historic Croke Park where British troops had gunned down 13 GAA fans and Tipperary half-back Michael Hogan on November 21, 1920, the original “Bloody Sunday”.
O’Driscoll gathered his team in the changing room and simply said there was no way they were to return as losers. Defeat was unthinkable. And so it proved. The anthems were observed with great dignity, Ireland’s fans treated it as sporting contest not a political event and with O’Driscoll at the helm their team absolutely destroyed England in the rain.
2009: Won 14-13 at Croke Park: Grand Slam year. From the outset this had looked like the last chance for Ireland’s ‘golden generation’ and the nerves were jangling, certainly O’Gara has rarely endured such a poor kicking day.  O’Driscoll though wouldn’t contemplate defeat and helped dig out victory with a rare dropped goal, taking aim from 30 metres and chipping over with his right foot, while it was his 55th minute try that put daylight between Ireland and England as he launched himself at the line from two metres after the Ireland pack had won good ruck ball.

2010: Won 20-16 at Twickenham: Yet another fine victory at Twickenham although in truth it didn’t require any fireworks from O’Driscoll, indeed he was helped from the pitch midway through the second half after and accidental collision with colleague Paul O’Connell had left him dazed. Earlier Ireland, with Jonny Sexton preferred to O’Gara at fly-half, had taken the initiative with well-taken tries from Tommy Bowe and Keith Earls but England had fought back and lead by one point through a Jonny Wilkinson dropped goal before Bowe sprinted in for the winning try.
2011: Won 24-6 at the Aviva: England, with Martin Johnson in charge, had worked up a decent head of steam and a Grand Slam was being widely predicted everywhere which irritated some across the Irish Sea.
O’Driscoll was determined to transform a middling season into something rather better and to open Ireland’s Six Nations account at the spanking new Aviva Stadium. The result was a blitz-krieg of an opening hour from Ireland and O’Driscoll, who claimed a 46th minute. England were flattered by the score and everything started to unravel very quickly thereafter culminating with the 2011 World Cup and the debacle of the reports and leaks that followed.
THE BAD
2013: Lost 12-6 at the Aviva: After a decade as captain O’Driscoll was no longer in charge now after Jamie Heaslip had been appointed as skipper when coach Declan Kidney, denied the services of Paul O’Connell, looked to the future. There was a feeling of transition throughout the Ireland set-up and on a miserable wet afternoon in Dublin they lacked any cohesion against an England side that were hardly world-beaters themselves. In the end four Owen Farrell penalties saw England home in the first try-less game in this fixture since 1984.

AND THE BLOODY UGLY
2000: Lost 50-18 at Twickenham: A humbling start to O’Driscoll’s Six Nations career as England worked off the frustrations of an unsuccessful World Cup campaign a few months earlier with six tries and a record victory over the Irish.
Commentators picked him out as one of the few Ireland success stories on a brutal afternoon, and they weren’t wrong. Six weeks later he was scoring a hat-trick against France at the Stade de France and he was on his way.
2002: Lost 45-11 at Twickenham: A gut-wrenching game for Ireland because they were a good side by this stage yet still finished a distant second.
Ireland had just dismissed Wales
54-10 in Dublin and two weeks after this drubbing put 40 points on Scotland but there was no hiding place as England set about working off their anger at squandering their Grand Slam shot at Lansdowne Road just four months earlier. No redeeming features for Ireland other than the knowledge that England possibly played their best ever 40 minutes under Clive Woodward in the first half and no team would have escaped a beating.
2003: Lost 42-6 at Lansdowne Road: Another absolutely breathtaking England performance – well in the second half at least – from an England side that were desperately looking to finally close out a Grand Slam after three recent failures. Martin Johnson’s team did it in imperious style with 29 unanswered points against a side that were themselves playing for a Grand Slam.
Indeed for 55 minutes Ireland went toe-to-toe with England and had squandered a clearcut try opportunity from a slashing O’Driscoll break. Come the moment of truth, though, and England hit the accelerator and disappeared into the distance. It hurt like hell and it’s probably no coincidence that it was another ten years before O’Driscoll lost to England again.