Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 117

The Roman Empire reaches its maximal extent between 116 and 117

Year 117 (CXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Niger and Apronianus (or, less frequently, year 870 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 117 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events[link]

By place[link]

Roman Empire[link]

• Trajan subdues a Jewish revolt (the Kitos War), then falls seriously ill, leaving Hadrian in command of the east.
• On his death bed, Trajan adopts Hadrian and designates him as his successor.
• August 9 – Emperor Trajan dies of a stroke at Selinus in Cilicia, age 63, while en route from Mesopotamia to Italy. Leaving the Roman Empire at its maximal territorial extent.
• Hadrian, who will reign until 138, succeeds him.
  • Hadrian, a Spaniard like Trajan, is an excellent officer who has had a brilliant career. He is well-cultured man, who as Emperor inaugurates a civil government,^{[citation needed]} giving up the policy of conquest of his predecessor in order to consolidate the empire.
• Hadrian returns large parts of Mesopotamia to the Parthians as part of a peace settlement.
• Construction begins on the Pantheon in Rome.

By topic[link]

Commerce[link]

• The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 87 percent under emperor Hadrian, down from 93 percent in the reign of Trajan.

Religion[link]

• John I becomes the 7th Bishop of Jerusalem.

Births[link]

• Aelius Aristides, Greek orator (d. 181)

Deaths[link]

• Hermione of Ephesus, Maurus, Pantalemon and Sergius, Astius and several other Christian martyrs in persecution by Trajan
• August 9 – Trajan, Roman emperor (b. 53)
• Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian (b. 56)
• Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus, Roman general in Judea (b. 70)

References[link]

Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson at the Johnny English Reborn Premiere
Birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
Born	(1955-01-06) 6 January 1955 (age 57)[1][2] Consett, Durham, England, United Kingdom
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film
Years active	1978–present
Genres	Physical comedy, Satire, Black comedy
Influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati[3]
Influenced	Steve Pemberton David Walliams
Spouse	Sunetra Sastry (m. 1990) «start: (1990)»"Marriage: Sunetra Sastry to Rowan Atkinson" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Rowan_Atkinson)
Notable works and roles	Not the Nine O'Clock News Blackadder Mr. Bean The Thin Blue Line Johnny English
BAFTA Awards Best Light Entertainment Performance 1981 Not the Nine O'Clock News 1990 Blackadder Goes Forth Laurence Olivier Awards Best Comedy Performance 1981 Rowan Atkinson in Revue

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy,^[4] and amongst the top 50 comedians ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.^[5] He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday and in Johnny English and its sequel Johnny English Reborn. He also starred in the film Never Say Never Again (a spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball) in 1983.

Early life and education[link]

Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England.^[6] His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945.^[6] His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert.^[7][8] Atkinson was brought up Anglican,^[9] and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University.^[10] In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935,^[11] which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006.^[12] First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976,^[10] while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis^[10] and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career[link]

Radio[link]

Atkinson had starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called The Atkinson People. It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones.^[13]

Television[link]

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called Canned Laughter. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News for the BBC, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.

The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1986. Blackadder II followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels Blackadder the Third (1987) (set in the Regency era), and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988).

Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton.^[14] During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday. In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular The Thin Blue Line television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg,^[15] Hitachi electrical goods,^{[citation needed]} Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn was based.

He also starred in a comedy spoof of Doctor Who as the Doctor, for a "Red Nose Day" benefit.

Atkinson has also starred as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the motoring show, Top Gear in July 2011, where he recorded the second fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.

Rowan Atkinson in 1997, promoting Bean

Film[link]

Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and a leading role in Dead on Time with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux, a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. That same year he was featured in Disney's The Lion King as the voice of Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), and Love Actually (2003).

In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy Keeping Mum, which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with Bean to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and this, as recently mentioned by Atkinson in 2011, was the last time he played the character.^[16] He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English in 2003. Its sequel, Johnny English Reborn was released on 7 October 2011.

Theatre[link]

Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979).

Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical Oliver! in the role of Fagin.^[17] The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.

Comedic style[link]

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.

One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a Blackadder episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering,^[18] and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton,^[14] sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of Blackadder the Third, in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life[link]

Rowan Atkinson at the Mr. Bean's Holiday premiere at Leicester Square in London (2007)

Marriage and children[link]

Rowan Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC.^[19] Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother.^[20] The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010, his Blackadder co-star Stephen Fry confessed on The Rob Brydon Show and in his second autobiography (The Fry Chronicles) that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'.^[21] Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.^[22]

Politics[link]

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.^[23] In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.^[24]

Cars[link]

With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car, Octane, Evo, and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1 in 1995.

Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.

Atkinson in 2009

A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his obsession with cars, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.^[25]

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang, Lancashire with an Austin Metro in October 1999. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree.^[26][27][28] He also owns a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8,^[29] and a Honda Civic Hybrid.^[30]

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8 Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls-Royce to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."^[31]

One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."^[32][33]

He appeared in episode 4, series 17 of Top Gear in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd on the test track in 1"42.2, taking first place on the board, but was later beaten by Matt LeBlanc during the second episode of the eighteenth series, with a lap time of 1"42.1.

He attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix as a guest of McLaren.

Television appearances[link]

• Canned Laughter (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Peter Cook & Co (1980)
• The Innes Book of Records (1980), guest appearance
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Blackadder as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder); Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II); Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III); Ebenezer Blackadder (Blackadder's Christmas Carol); and Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)
• Saturday Live as guest host (1986)
• Mr. Bean as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)
• Rowan Atkinson Live as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)
• Bernard and the Genie as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)
• Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
• A Bit Of Fry And Laurie (1992), guest appearance
• The Thin Blue Line as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)
• The Story of Bean as himself (1997)
• Blackadder: Back and Forth as Blackadder (2000)
• Mr. Bean (animated TV series) as Mr. Bean, voice (2002)
• The Comic Relief "Red Nose Day" telecasts, including appearances in:
  • Blackadder: The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)
  • Nosenight sketches (1989)
  • Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr. Bean (1991)
  • (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr. Bean (1992)
  • Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr. Bean (1993)
  • Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995)
  • Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death as The Doctor (1999)
  • Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001)
  • Lying to Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003)
  • Spider-Plant Man as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)
  • Mr Bean's Wedding as Mr. Bean (2007)
  • The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief as himself (2007)
• We Are Most Amused (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday
• Blackadder Rides Again as himself (2008)
• Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News as himself (2009)

Guest appearances[link]

• Wogan (1988, 1991)
• Children in Need (1988), guest appearance as Mr. E. Blackadder
• Noel's House Party, guest appearance as Blackadder
• Going Live, guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• This Morning (1995), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Big Breakfast
• Parkinson (2003)
• Blue Peter (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• London Tonight (2005)
• BBC Breakfast (2007)
• Richard & Judy (2007)
• The Dame Edna Treatment (2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Top Gear (2011)

Filmography[link]

Live comedy albums[link]

• Live in Belfast (1980)
• Not Just a Pretty Face (1987)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rowan Atkinson

• Rowan Atkinson at the Internet Movie Database
• Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline

Jet black may refer to:

• Jet Black, rock musician
• Jet Black, a character from the Cowboy Bebop franchise
• Jet black, the darkest shade of black hair color
• Jet-black, an adjective meaning "as dark a black as possible," which derives from a geological material Jet

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Brian O'Driscoll

Full name	Brian Gerald O'Driscoll
Date of birth	(1979-01-21) 21 January 1979 (age 33)
Place of birth	Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
School	Blackrock College
University	University College Dublin
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Centre
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
	UCD Blackrock College Barbarians
correct as of 2007-09-15.
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1999–present	Leinster	151	(271) 53 Tries
correct as of 21 Aug 2011.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1999–present 2001, 2005, 2009 2000-2004	Ireland Lions Barbarians	117 6 3	(240) 45 Tries (5) (5)
correct as of 11 Dec 2011.

Brian Gerald O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. Registered at University College Dublin RFC, he plays at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster. O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 RBS Six Nations Championships.^[1]

O'Driscoll has 123 Test caps, 117 for Ireland (80 as captain), and 6 for the British and Irish Lions.^[2][3] He has scored 45 tries for Ireland and 1 try for the Lions in 2001, making him the highest try scorer of all time in Irish Rugby.^[2][4] He is 8th-highest try scorer in rugby union history, and the highest scoring centre of all time. O'Driscoll holds the Six Nations record for most tries scored with 25.^[5][6] He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (30) for an Irishman.^[7] He is widely regarded as one of the best centres to have played the game.^[8][9]

Early life[link]

O'Driscoll was born in Clontarf on Dublin's Northside to Frank and Geraldine O'Driscoll, both general practitioner doctors.^{[citation needed]} As a child, he played Gaelic football before moving to rugby.^{[citation needed]} For his secondary education he attended the famous Blackrock College where he played on the Senior Cup team in 1996 and 1997.^{[citation needed]} Although he started the first two rounds of the competition in 1996 he was subsequently dropped to the bench for the remainder of the competition, an unused replacement in the victorious final in which Leo Cullen and Bob Casey were the second-row. He Captained the School in 1997 but were beaten in the Quarter-final by Clongowes who had Gordon D'arcy in their side. ^[10] He was capped three times for Ireland Schools in 1996.^[11][12] In 1998, O'Driscoll played for the Ireland U-19 side, which won the Under 19 Rugby World Championship. After leaving school, he attended UCD on a scholarship.^[13] At UCD, he first made the under-20 side, before being promoted to the top team near the end of his first year.^[13] After two years, O'Driscoll graduated from UCD with a diploma in sports management.^[13] It was at UCD that coach John McClean moved O'Driscoll from fly-half to centre. He made his Ireland under-21 debut in February 1999, and eventually gained four caps.^[12]

Leinster[link]

O'Driscoll made his debut for Leinster in 1999, and under head coach Matt Williams and backs coach Alan Gaffney he became an explosive force in the Leinster backline.^{[citation needed]} In 2001, Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League beating Munster in Lansdowne Road. In 2003, Leinster were heavy favourites for that year's Heineken Cup but were beaten by Perpignan in the semi finals.

10 November 2007. Leinster Rugby v Leicester Tigers in Heineken Cup

Leinster appointed Michael Cheika in the summer of 2005 and despite rumours of O'Driscoll moving to France, O'Driscoll agreed to another year in Ireland. That year, O'Driscoll returning from a shoulder injury suffered on the Lions tour, would assume the captaincy for the season. Under backs coach David Knox and the movement of Argentine international Felipe Contepomi to fly half, the Leinster back line became one of the most potent in Europe.^[14] O'Driscoll excelled in wins over Bath Rugby and Toulouse away from home. These victories would set up an Heineken Cup semi-final in Lansdowne Road against Munster, but defeat against the eventual champions Munster would deny O'Driscoll and his team a final berth. Leinster were also denied a Magners League title, with David Humphreys of Ulster slotting an injury time drop goal to give victory to Ulster in their final game of the season.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Wasps beat Leinster in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. In 2008, Leinster lost in the group stages. In 2007, Leinster reached the final hurdle of the league only to be denied by the Ospreys and Cardiff. In 2008, Leinster won the title ahead of Munster, marking O'Driscoll's second honour with the province, his first and only as captain.^{[citation needed]}

The 2008–2009 season marked a shift in focus for O'Driscoll. Despite retaining the Irish captaincy under new coach Declan Kidney, he handed the honour of Leinster captain to Leo Cullen. O'Driscoll scored two tries in the defeat of English champions London Wasps, but was followed by away defeats for Leinster to both London Wasps and Castres. Leinster advanced to the quarter-finals to face Harlequins in the Twickenham Stoop. When O'Driscoll was absent through injury in April 2009, Leinster relinquished their Magners League crown to Munster at Thomond Park. Against Harlequins, Leinster scored a 6–5 victory, the game infamous for the bloodgate incident.^{[citation needed]}

In the semi-final against rivals Munster in Croke Park, a 82,206 sell out, O'Driscoll was awarded the man of the match award (which he later dedicated to the entire team) after an intercept try completed a convincing win for Leinster and sending O'Driscoll to his first final.^[15] Leinster captured the Heineken Cup against Leicester Tigers on 23 May 2009. The 19–16 Heineken Cup victory included a drop goal from O'Driscoll who was suffering from a shoulder injury.^[16]

In the 2010–2011 season, O'Driscoll won his second Heineken Cup with Leinster.^[17] Having been injured in a Magners League game one week before the final, O'Driscoll was a major doubt, but he recovered sufficiently and was named in the starting XV.^[18] In the final held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 21 May 2011, Leinster came from behind to defeat Northampton 33–22.^[17]

In the 2012 Heineken Cup Final O'Driscoll won his third Heineken cup with Leinster. The beat Ulster Rugby 42-14 in an entertaining battle. Sean O'Brien opened the scoring for Leinster Rugby and they were ahead 7-3. At half time the score was 14-6 with Cian Healy scoring the second try for Leinster Rugby but there was still a lot to play for. A penalty try was then awarded for Leinster Rugby but Ulster pulled a try back from second-row Dan Tuohy. Heinke van der Merwe then settled the game with a try for Leinster and Sean Cronin made sure of Leinster's success.

International Rugby[link]

Ireland[link]

B.O'D. captaining Ireland vs Georgia in the 2007 RWC

In 1999, O'Driscoll was selected for the senior squad and was on the bench for a match against Italy, although he did not play. He won his first Test cap at age 20 on 12 June 1999 in a 46–10 loss to Australia in Brisbane as part of the tour of Australia. O'Driscoll played for Ireland before he played for the senior Leinster team.^[13] In 2000, O'Driscoll scored a Hat-trick of tries in a Six Nations Championship victory against France in Paris, propelling Ireland to their first win in Paris since 1972.^[3][19]

O'Driscoll's popularity in Ireland was expressed by supporters wearing T-shirts bearing the motto "In BOD We Trust".^[20] In 2002, O'Driscoll starred in Irelands 18–9 win over Australia, the first Irish victory over the Wallabies since 1979.^[21] In 2003, following the international retirement of long-time Ireland captain Keith Wood, O'Driscoll was awarded the captaincy. In that year, O'Driscoll led Ireland to second place in the Six Nations Championship. This was followed by Triple Crowns in 2004 (Ireland's first crown since 1985), 2006 and 2007. In 2004, O'Driscoll captained Ireland to a 17–12 victory over South Africa, the first Irish win over the Springboks since 1965.^[22]

In 2009, O'Driscoll was again selected as captain, leading Ireland to win the Triple Crown, Six Nations Championship and their first Grand Slam in 61 years.^[23][24] He scored a try in every match except one, culminating in a 17–15 victory in Cardiff in which O'Driscoll again scored a try and was the RBS man of the match.^[25] On 27 March 2009, he was named as player of the 2009 Six Nations Championship.^{[citation needed]} O'Driscoll won a fans' online poll.^[26] In May 2009, he was named the Bord Gáis Energy IRUPA Players' Player of the Year for the past season.^[27]

On 15 November 2009, in a 20–20 draw against Australia at Croke Park, O'Driscoll scored a last minute try.^[28] The next day, he was named as one of the seven nominations for the 2009 International Rugby Board player of the year, but, to much criticism, he controversially missed out to Richie McCaw for this title by a solitary point.^[29][30]

O'Driscoll started for and captained Ireland for every match during the 2010 Six Nations Championship. He picked up his 100th test cap for Ireland against Wales in the Millennium Stadium.^{[citation needed]} He scored his 40th test try against New Zealand on 12 June 2010.^{[citation needed]}

He started every match for Ireland in the 2010 Autumn Tests, and bested the Four/Five/Six Nations record for tries scored against England in March 2011.^{[citation needed]}

O'Driscoll has played for Ireland in the last three World Cups (13 caps, 6 tries).^{[citation needed]} He became Ireland's most capped player on 26 June 2010 against Australia, winning his 103rd cap.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2011 Six Nations Championship, O’Driscoll’s 47th minute try against England, took him past Ian Smith’s 78-year-old record of 24 tries to become the leading Championship try scorer of all time with 25 Tries.^[5][6] The same day, O'Driscoll equaled John Smit's International Captaincy caps of 75.^[31]

British and Irish Lions[link]

O'Driscoll appeared in all three British and Irish Lions Tests on the team's 2001 tour of Australia where he announced himself as a world star with an outstanding individual try in the 1st Test victory at The Gabba in Brisbane.^[3] On 11 April 2005, he was named captain of the team for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. Prior to that tour, he had been named captain of the Northern Hemisphere side for the IRB Rugby Aid Match (a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami fundraiser) held at Twickenham in March 2005, but was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury, but appeared pitch-side for the match.^[32][33]

O'Driscoll's playing contribution to the 2005 Lions ended in the opening minutes of the first Test against the All Blacks in Christchurch on 25 June 2005, when he was carried off the field on a stretcher with a shoulder injury just after being spear-tackled in tandem by All Blacks skipper Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu after the ball had been cleared out of a ruck.^[34] He extended one arm to protect his head, and his shoulder was dislocated on impact.^[35]

The independent citing commissioner found that the New Zealand players had no case to answer, and The Lions management were criticised by New Zealanders for attempting to divert attention from the teams poor performance. However, four months later, and following new footage of the incident, the International Rugby Board unequivocally condemned the spear tackle by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu.^[36] The International Rugby Board's communications manager Greg Thomas stated "...that dangerous tackles like this have no part in the game".^[35] Although unable to play, O'Driscoll remained as non-playing captain on a losing tour and only underwent surgery on his return. He then released a DVD entitled Brian O'Driscoll's Lions Diary in which he described his tour experience and his opinion of the events that transpired.^[36]

On 21 April 2009, O'Driscoll was selected as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.^[37] On 1 June 2009, he was named as captain of the Lions for the game against the Golden Lions taking place on 3 June, in place of the rested Paul O'Connell. He was also named in the outside centre position for the Lions in their first test of the 2009 tour against South Africa, in which he made two assists as the Lions lost 26 – 21.^{[citation needed]} He was forced to withdraw from the tour on 30 June before the third and final test due to a head injury and subsequent concussion he suffered in the second test.^[38]

Barbarians[link]

O'Driscoll has appeared three times for the invitational Barbarians rugby team: against South Africa on 10 December 2000, against Scotland on 22 May 2004, and against England on 30 May 2004. Against South Africa, O'Driscoll scored his only try as a part of the Barbarians team.^[39]

Injury comeback[link]

In September 2005, as O'Driscoll was said to be preparing to leave Irish provincial rugby and agree to a contract to play in France, the IRFU quickly announced they would do all they could to keep him in Ireland.^[40] O'Driscoll subsequently signed a deal with the IRFU to keep him at Leinster through the 2007 World Cup. O'Driscoll made his playing comeback for Leinster in December 2005 at Ravenhill against Ulster.

Tributes and awards[link]

In 2001, 2002 and 2009, O'Driscoll was nominated for the IRB World Player of the Year. In 2001, he lost out to his Irish teammate Keith Wood; in 2002, to Fabien Galthié; and, in 2009, when widely regarded as favourite for the award to Richie McCaw by a solitary point, with one judge who would otherwise have given O'Driscoll the award, citing a flawed voting system.^[30]

O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 RBS Six Nations Championships.^[1]

In 2007, former England centre and captain Will Carling published his list of the '50 Greatest Rugby players' in The Telegraph, and ranked O'Driscoll the tenth greatest player of all time.^[9]

In summer 2008, O'Driscoll received the Dubliner of the Year Award from The Dubliner magazine.

In January 2010, O'Driscoll was voted World Rugby player of the decade (2000–2009) by the magazine Rugby World.^[41]

Personal life[link]

O'Driscoll married actress Amy Huberman in July 2010.^[43]

He has published one book, "A Year in the Centre" (2005), a memoir of a year as professional rugby player.^{[citation needed]} A biography of O'Driscoll, called In BOD We Trust, by Marcus Stead was published in March 2008.^{[citation needed]} A revised and extended version of Stead's book was published in August 2011, titled "Brian O'Driscoll: The Biography".^{[citation needed]}

In February 2011, O'Driscoll and his wife were invited to the Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton,^[44] but only his wife attended, because of his club team's (Leinster) preparation for their Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse the day after the wedding.

On 18 May 2011, O'Driscoll attended a state dinner hosted by President Mary McAleese to mark Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Republic of Ireland.^[45]

Statistics[link]

International Tries[link]

International Analysis by Opposition[link]

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tries	Points	% Won
Argentina	7	5	2	0	1	5	71.43
Australia	12	3	8	1	4	23	29.17
Canada	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
England	11	8	3	0	3	18	70
Fiji	2	2	0	0	2	10	100
France	11	4	7	0	8	40	36.36
Georgia	2	2	0	0	2	10	100
Italy	11	11	0	0	5	25	100
Japan	1	1	0	0	2	10	100
Namibia	2	2	0	0	1	5	100
New Zealand	9	0	9	0	3	21	0
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
Romania	3	3	0	0	1	8	100
Russia	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
Samoa	1	1	0	0	0	0	100
Scotland	12	9	3	0	5	25	75
South Africa	8	3	5	0	1	5	37.5
United States	2	2	0	0	1	5	100
Wales	12	9	3	0	5	25	75
Total	108	68	39	1	44	235	62.62

Correct as of 19 March 2011^[46]

Honours[link]

Underage Team[link]

• IRB Under 19 Rugby World Championship – 1998
• Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup

Professional Club[link]

• European Cup – 2008/2009, 2010/2011;2010/2011;2011/2012
• Magners League – 2001/2002, 2007/2008

International Team[link]

• Grand Slam – 2009
• Six Nations Championship – 2009
• Triple Crown – 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009
• British and Irish Lions rugby union Tourist – 2001, 2005 (captain), 2009

Individual Awards[link]

• 6 Nations All time top try scorer with 25 tournament tries.
• 6 Nations Player of the Year – 2006, 2007, 2009.
• 6 Nations Top try scorer – 2009 (tied with Riki Flutey).
• European Cup Top try scorer – 2009.
• Shortlisted for IRB International Player of the Year 3 times – 2001, 2002, 2009.
• Named on ERC European Dream Team (to mark the first 15 years of the Heineken Cup).
• IRB International Try of the Year 2008 ( Australia v Ireland).
• IRUPA Players' Player of the Year – 2008/09.
• Texaco Sportstars Rugby Award – 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009.
• 'Rugby World' magazines' Player of the Decade.
• Named on 'Rugby World' magazines' Team of the Decade.
• English Rugby Union Writers' Club Pat Marshall Memorial Award as the sport's outstanding personality for 2009.
• Dubliner of the Year Award – 2008.

Biography[link]

A Year in the Centre, 2005, Dublin, Penguin Books, Ltd ISBN 1-84488-078-8^[47]

See also[link]

• List of leading Rugby union Test try scorers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leinster profile
• IRFU profile
• Lions profile
• Barbarians profile
• ESPNscrum profile