JACKSON COLUMN: Old foe backs O'Driscoll for one last hurrah

Far from being a mere spectator, Kelly played his part in ensuring that his opposite number at Temple Hill on August 7, 1999 went back to Dublin reflecting on some of the harsher facts of rugby life.

Munster, in vigorous defence of their inter-provincial title, won 31-20 with Kelly delivering one of their four tries from his position at outside centre.

A wing by trade, he has long gone down in folklore as a member of Munster's first European Cup winning team and the architect-in-chief of the 'Miracle Match' against Gloucester at Thomond Park 11 years ago.

As well making the miracle possible with the never-to-be-forgotten bonus point try in injury time, Kelly has the added distinction of being O'Driscoll's first direct opponent on the occasion of The Great One's debut for Leinster. Kelly remembers it well.

"I'd played against him in an A match at Dooradoyle the previous season"' Kelly, a 40-year-old accountant in Cork, said. "I'd heard the name alright and someone told me before the match that he was good. And he was good, too.

"Brian was already a big name way back then because he'd played for Ireland in Australia that summer. I was well aware that I was playing against the Irish centre.

"He was a brilliant attacking talent right from the start. But I remember thinking that he was raw and that the one department of his game which probably needed working on was his defence.

"You could get him on the inside shoulder in the early days but that hasn't been possible for a long time because of the work he's done to put that right. Nobody can have worked harder on his game.

"A player like Brian O'Driscoll comes along once every 100 years or maybe once every 200 years. I can't see anyone of his quality emerging for a very long time. They could never replace the O'Driscoll of three years ago. He's a bit of a freak.

"I look at guys I played with who started a few years after me and there's only a few of them still around. What Brian has done is testament not just to how good he is and how hard he works to keep going for so long but that he stays fit despite all the knocks.

"I gave up at 33 at the end of a period when I kept getting injured. It might have been different had I not torn so many hamstrings but I knew my legs were gone. There was no second gear. Brian's still going strong, still winning trophies."

Kelly, his Ireland career limited to 17 Tests by the aforementioned injury misfortune, backs O'Driscoll to win another on Saturday night when he takes his final bow and leaves the stage for good.

The RaboDirect PRO12 Final against Glasgow's formidable Warriors ensures the best European player of his generation a fitting farewell on home territory at an RDS overflowing with emotion.

The Scots have swept all before them over the last two months, storming into their first final on the strength of nine straight wins including two against Munster and one against Ulster.

In fly-half Finn Russell they have made arguably the discovery of the RaboDirect PRO12 season.

The Warriors will not be daunted by the prospect of the RDS bulging at the seams. This will be their third experience of a winner-take-all scenario in Dublin, having lost there by four points in the 2012 semi-final and by two points at the same stage last year.

If they keep narrowing the gap by the same margin this time, then O'Driscoll and co. will be obliged to go into extra time in defence of the title they won against Ulster 12 months ago.

Big Ali Kellock, the bearded Josh Strauss and the rest will arrive with the sole aim of spoiling the party by proving that their time has come.

Kelly, among the first batch of Irish players to start in three European Cup finals before Leinster superseded Munster's feat by winning all three, pays the Warriors due respect but predicts a winning finale for O'Driscoll.

"I think Leinster have more quality and they're playing at home," Kelly said. "Leinster at the RDS are a different animal to Leinster anywhere else. It's very rare for a player to finish on a high but here we're talking about the greatest Irish career in professional rugby."

O'Driscoll's senior Leinster debut, Cork, August 7, 1999 - Munster 31, Leinster 20.

Leinster: Girvan Dempsey; Denis Hickie, Brian O'Driscoll, Gareth Gannon, John McWeeney; Barry Everitt, Cieran Scally; Reggie Corrigan, Shane Byrne, Angus McKeen; Bob Casey, Malcolm O'Kelly; Trevor Brennan, Liam Toland, Victor Costello.
Tries- Hickie 2. Conversions-Everitt 2. Penalties- Everitt 2.

Munster: Dominic Crotty; John O'Neill, John Kelly, Mike Mullins, Anthony Horgan; Ronan O'Gara, Tom Tierney; Peter Clohessy, Keith Wood, John Hayes; Mick Galwey, John Langford; David Corkery, David Wallace, Anthony Foley.
Tries- Kelly, O'Neill, Langford, Foley. Conversions- O'Gara 4. Penalty- O'Gara.

Pro 12 Finals:

May 29, 2010 at the RDS: Attendance: 19,500.

Leinster 12 (Penalties - J Sexton 4), Ospreys 17 (Tries-T Bowe, L Byrne. Conversions-D Biggar 2. Penalty - D Biggar).

May 28, 2011 at Thomond Park: Attendance: 26,100.

Munster 19 (Tries-D Howlett, K Earls, penalty try. Conversions-R O'Gara 2). Leinster 9 (Penalties- J Sexton 3).

May 27, 2012 at the RDS: Attendance: 18,500.

Leinster 30 (Tries-S Cronin, I Nacewa 2. Conversions-J Sexton 3. Penalties-J Sexton 3), Ospreys 31 (Tries-A Beck, S Williams 2. Conversions-D Biggar 2. Penalties-D Biggar 4).

May 25, 2013 at the RDS: Attendance: 18,500.

Leinster 24 (Tries-S Jennings, J Heaslip. Conversion-J Sexton. Penalties-J Sexton 4), Ulster 18 (Penalties- R Pienaar 6).

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