Stylish Ireland give O’Driscoll a triumphant home farewell

Ireland turned on the style to give a teary-eyed Brian O’Driscoll the perfect farewell present in his last test on home soil with a thumping 46-7 Six Nations victory over Italy at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

O’Driscoll, 35, was instrumental in Ireland’s first three tries – two of which were scored by his former Leinster team-mate Jonathan Sexton – as victory also saw him join former England prop Jason Leonard with the most Five/Six Nations wins of 44.

“A bit of a joke really to be man of the match after just 60 minutes,” grinned O’Driscoll, who also played the biggest matches for his province Leinster at Lansdowne.

“I feel humbled by the reaction today. I have loved my time playing in this jersey, it has to come to an end at some stage and I am happy to go out with a big win.”

The game was Ireland’s penultimate test of a Six Nations Championship which could see them seal the title with victory over France in Paris next Saturday as their points difference is far better than their rivals.

The 27-point victory gives Ireland a commanding +81 points difference at the top of the table, before France play Scotland later on Saturday and England host two-time defending champions Wales on Sunday.