BOD makes his radio presenter debut

Brian O’Driscoll had his first stint as a guest presenter on Newstalk’s Off the Ball tonight and took to it like a “duck to water”.

BOD makes his radio presenter debut

Brian O’Driscoll had his first stint as a guest presenter on Newstalk’s Off the Ball tonight and took to it like a “duck to water”.

That was the judgement of his colleagues on the show anyway, who tweeted a picture of the rugby legend looking relaxed in studio.

“It’s great to be here finally,” remarked O’Driscoll, as he was welcomed to the show by regulars Ger Gilroy and Colm Parkinson.

When asked how he felt not to be returning to action with his Leinster teammates O’Driscoll admitted to mixed feelings.

“I haven’t missed pre-season,” he said, “and I haven’t been watching training from behind the trees or anything.”

“The first pang was when seeing the Leinster dressing room on television last week before the match.”

O’Driscoll said it was strange to imagine the pre-match conversations that he was so used to hearing going on without him. He also expected that watching the first big games such as matches against Munster would be tough.

“It’s the derby games, when you know it’s on, that’s what I’ll miss.”

O’Driscoll sent a tweet earlier in the day that suggested he was feeling some pre-show nerves.

But on the show he was relaxed and chatty, discussing Jonny Sexton’s move to France and subsequent return.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” was his opinion of the whole saga, but added that there had been a steep learning curve and he felt similar situations would be better handled in the future.

The presenters went on to chat with him about his Ireland and Leinster debuts before England’s Martin Johnson joined the discussion.

The two former greats debated Ireland and England teams past and present and even had a laugh about the infamous “carpetgate” incident in 2003, when Johnson refused to move his team and forced then-president Mary McAleese to walk across the grass to greet his team before a match.

Unsurprisingly Johnson is still unrepentant, commenting to O’Driscoll,

“You could have just stayed(at the other side) and cracked on Brian.”

O’Driscoll finished up soon after, saying: “It’s been fun.”

It was a quiet opening evening for the Leinster and Ireland legend, but one that showed him at ease in the studio and warming up to his new role.

You can listen back to the show at Newstalk.ie.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Leo Cullen 28/3/2024 Developing cohesion the biggest challenge for Cullen
Ospreys v Munster - United Rugby Championship Kendellen: Munster can't underestimate Cardiff threat
2015 Super Rugby: Cell C Sharks v Western Force Springboks legend John Smit says 'phenomenal' URC has proved doubters wrong
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited