O'Driscoll's unfinished business

Brian O'Driscoll will claim his 100th Ireland cap in the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations insisting retirement remains far from his mind.

Should he avoid injury in the coming weeks, O'Driscoll will reach the milestone in Ireland's penultimate match of the championship against Wales at Croke Park on March 13.

Perhaps surprisingly given the rate he is amassing records, he is likely to miss out on becoming the first of Declan Kidney's Grand Slam winners to join the ranks of rugby's centurions.

That honour should belong to John Hayes, who has made 97 international appearances, but as the indomitable prop will be five years older at 36 when Six Nations hostilities commence, O'Driscoll will almost certainly overtake him.

O'Driscoll already has more Test tries than any other centre (38), most matches as Ireland captain (59) and most wins (41) and is keen to continue pushing the boundaries - despite the brutality of the game.

'I have ambitions to set records which will be hard to chase down, like getting more than 100 caps for Ireland,' he said.

'I still have more to give. I have seen players leave well before their time and I would hate to do that. So why bother with an end date?

'I don't think the game's getting too physical but I will say I'm glad I'm nearer the end than the start.'

Lions years have a habit of reinvigorating great players and so it proved last year with O'Driscoll, who put several indifferent seasons undermined by niggling injuries behind him to take the Six Nations by storm.

The 31-year-old became only Ireland's second Grand Slam-winning captain, producing two man-of-the-match performances and finishing as player of the tournament in the process.

Further heroics followed on the Lions tour to South Africa where he was outstanding before being forced home after the second Test because of concussion.

The blistering acceleration that marked his earlier years may have been eroded by injury and time but, older and wiser, the Leinster centre is as creative as ever and remains utterly fearless.

Yet surprisingly for a player of such vast experience, O'Driscoll continues to be struck by the same nerves that marked his debut.

'I was really looking forward to my first cap and didn't start feeling nervous until the fireworks went off when Australia came onto the pitch,' said O'Driscoll.

'I wasn't expecting that. Once the whistle went for the start of the game all those nerves evaporated.

'I still have those nerves - if you don't the mind isn't sharp. You need to be forcing your food down. The butterflies focus the mind and get you ready for combat.'

O'Driscoll's hunger for the game extends to the captaincy - a role he has filled with distinction since succeeding Keith Wood on a permanent basis in 2004.

'We're in the fortunate position of having a lot of great leaders around so the workload is shared,' he said.

'But it would be strange to be playing in an Ireland international and not be captain.

'Keith Wood was the last Irish captain I played under and that feels like an eternity ago.

'I enjoy it as much now as I did in the early days, though it probably comes more naturally to me now.

'You always look forward to coming back into the Irish squad. It's the pinnacle of everyone's career.'