O'Driscoll is Six Nations most bankable star

A new analysis of RBS 6 Nations media coverage has revealed that Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll is the tournament's most famous face.

O'Driscoll will earn his 100th cap against Wales this Saturday and an analysis of global media coverage of the tournament by Irish company O'Leary Analytics has revealed that the Dubliner outscores all of his rival captains when it comes to media coverage.

He beat England captain Steve Borthwick into second place by appearing in 2,500 Six Nations articles across the world so far this year.

The achievement is all the more remarkable given the fact that, on a country-by-country basis, England dominate the media publication landscape. English outlets account for some 50% of articles published online since January.

France come in second with 22% but Ireland is revealed to be slightly Six Nations obsessed: despite a far smaller population, it comes in third in the analysis with 3,700 articles in a little over two months, or 19% of the total.

The analysis also reveals the significant impact of team performance on coverage. England experienced a significant drop-off after a lacklustre display in Rome: evidence of declining interest in a team seen to be under-performing. In contrast, Italy got a jump of almost 250% in coverage after their thrilling win over Scotland in Rome.

The analysis also proved that nothing spreads like bad news. Wales back-rower Andy Powell's golf buggy antics sparked a massive spike in Six Nations coverage worldwide. 1,500 Powell- based articles were published in the aftermath of the incident - which attracted interest from outside typical Six Nations sources.

There was a bright side to Powell's drink-fuelled motorway excursion for Welsh sponsor Brains SA - a Cardiff based brewery - as it contributed to driving Wales ahead of France into second place behind England in the global coverage chart.

Visit O'Leary Analytics for the full analysis.

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