Is O'Dricoll a liar? or just trying to sell more books?

[Te Kaha]

From the herald...

O'Driscoll traumatised by mysterious NZ nurse

27.10.05


Rugby and medical officials are baffled over the mystery nurse who apparently traumatised Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll after he dislocated his shoulder against the All Blacks.

In an extract from his tour diary, published in the Guardian newspaper in Britain yesterday, the Irish star tells how a "nurse-physio" started to cut his Lions shirt off and tried to souvenir it as he lay in agony in the Jade Stadium medical room.

O'Driscoll likened it to "picking over the bones of the Lions corpse".

"Then, and I still can't believe this, the nurse asked me if she could have my Lions shirt," he wrote.

"Mother of God, what was she thinking? I've been speared off the bloody pitch after just 40 seconds of a test series and she wants the shirt off my back as well.

"What is wrong with this bloody country? Just start treating me like a human being, will you?"

The Order of St John was baffled by O'Driscoll's comments and said it did not have a nurse in the medical room at the test in June.

"We are puzzled who that woman was," spokeswoman Amy McDermott said yesterday. "We did not provide any medical treatment to injured players; that was controlled by the Lions medical team.

"We only supplied his transport from the pitch to the medical room and later on to the hospital, and again under supervision of the Lions medical team."

Canterbury regional operations manager Chris Haines said O'Driscoll might be referring to a Lions medical team member. "That appears to be the case ... We're scratching our head about this one."

The NZ Rugby Union said it, too, was unable to identify the mystery nurse as "there is only a match doctor on duty", but was surprised by O'Driscoll's comments.

"It is all news to us," said NZRFU spokesman Brian Finn. "None of the complaints that Brian O'Driscoll has raised coincide with any of the issues raised by the Lions management during our debriefing."

The recollections have also mystified the union-appointed match doctor for the test, Stephen Targett.

"It's the first I've heard anything like that. I didn't witness anything like that," Dr Targett said.

He said he was "around" at the time, but did not attend to O'Driscoll.

A more serious issue that was raised by the Lions in the debriefing was the absence of morphine to ease O'Driscoll's pain.

Mr Finn said the medical officer with the morphine had gone to the rescue of a fan suffering a fatal heart attack outside the front gate, "which unfortunately just happened exactly at the same time".

He said the match doctor administered an interim painkiller for O'Driscoll and the morphine was available within minutes.

In his diary, O'Driscoll renews his attack on All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and hooker Keven Mealamu, claiming he could have broken his neck in the tackle.

- STAFF REPORTER, NZPA

The guy is rapidly losing respect. it is no coincendece that the attacks on Tana and mealamu and the release of "new" video footage of the clean-out happen to be just as he publishes his book.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Get over it Brian. What happenned to leaving it on the paddock the way players did in the old days?

 

[ozbash]

AB,s v Irish haka will be worth catching.

 

[douglasallen91]

From the herald...


The guy is rapidly losing respect.

o'driscoll has lost all respect a while ago.

 

[Jackal Dog]

Both sides should grow up BOD keeps rattling on about it and NZ keeps taking the bait.

O'Driscoll is a very good player, when he is in form no outside centre can came close to him, the best thing for him would be to get back on the paddock and put the past behind him.

 

[bayrep]

So you would have O'Driscoll over Tana ?? Both on form Tana would tan O'Driscoll's butt..........no no wait Tana has kicked O'Dricolls butt!

 

[ThrashViking]

What about the D'Arcy tackle on tipoki? Typical f**kin pommy whingers

 

[Jackal Dog]

So you would have O'Driscoll over Tana ?? Both on form Tana would tan O'Driscoll's butt..........no no wait Tana has kicked O'Dricolls butt!

Tan his butt ok.....:?

Seriously yes I would O'Driscoll he is a brilliant attacker and a great defender he didn't earn the title "the best centre in the world" for nothing.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Tan his butt ok.....:?

Seriously yes I would O'Driscoll he is a brilliant attacker and a great defender he didn't earn the title "the best centre in the world" for nothing.

A title Umaga has occaisionally been awarded too. One things for sure, it'll be a match-up to watch whne the ABs are on tour!!!

 

[Scott]

What about the D'Arcy tackle on tipoki? Typical f**kin pommy whingers

BINGO!

 

[skeepe]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

 

[Scott]

Get a grip! It wasn't actually a tackle either. It was a cleanout. Big difference.

 

[Copa]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

Agree. It is the All Blacks involved that have lost respect IMO.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Mealamu and Umaga was bad, D'Arcy was worse. Tana and Keven should have got about 8-10 weeks each and D'Arcy at least 12, what a horror tackle. The complete lack of a competent and coherent rugby union judiciary took a lot away from the series imo. Although the fact that the Lions almost to a man were cheap shot thugs didn't help either.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

LMAO 6 months. If so then D'Arcy should have got a life ban. Mealamu and Umaga went in low to clear O'Driscoll out of the ruck. Things went very, very awry (it was definitely a terrible tackle) but initially they just when in to smash him. D'Arcy went to a hell of a lot of effort to pick Tipoki up and drop him on his head, and that was about 10 seconds after he had passed the ball.

 

[Te Kaha]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all

Complete and utter bullsh*t. They tried to apoligise imediatly after the game but Lions manangement refused to let them. Tana spent a week trying to contact BO'D without success. Only after the press got involved was he allowed to.

for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

It wasn't a takle dumbarse it was a cleanout on a player ILEGALLY entering the wrong side of the ruck. It was a cleanout that went wrong but only an idiot would think they dumped him on his head on purpose.

Agree. It is the All Blacks involved that have lost respect IMO.

And I am sure that they are terribly worried that an Australian who doesn't like the code has lost respect for them...

 

[SpaceMonkey]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

For f*cks sake, you're making out like they're worse than Hoppa or something! Talk about an overreaction.

 

[Iafeta]

The difference is, D'Arcy apologised whereas Umaga and Mealamu were not apologetic at all for one of the most disgusting tackles I have ever seen, especially on a player off the ball. They both should have been sent off at the time and suspended for 6 months minimum.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Oh my god - its like your mind has been taken over by slava.

Sent off, six months... What next? Any one who drives 51ks in a 50k zone should be hung drawn and quartered?

 

[Mal Meninga]

How has O'Driscoll lost respect? He's a gun, and obviously the Kiwis knew that by taking him out street figher style. He's the best centre in the world when on form, and even off form he's right up there.

 

[ozbash]

good article from DJ on xtra.co.nz

Thanks Brian O'Driscoll, you've done it again. If ever the All Blacks needed a bit of added motivation for their Grand Slam attempt, the Lions and Irish captain has provided the tourists with the extra edge for their arduous trip north.

With impeccable timing - and huge self interest - O'Driscoll has lifted the lid again on the sorriest chapter of the rugby year.

His thoughts on the alleged spear tackle by All Blacks Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu that left him with a dislocated shoulder from the first Lions test has opened a whole can of worms again.

Surely you would have learned the first time, Brian.

When this issue was raised with such venom by O'Driscoll and the Lions management way back in June, they paid a huge price for their accusations against Umaga.

The All Blacks circled the wagons, determined to protect and inspire their inspirational skipper Umaga. The result was a devastating display by Umaga and his side in Wellington to clinch the second test and the series.

But they didn't stop there. The All Blacks, still fired up by the fuss, went on to complete a whitewash of the sorry Lions.

That, they thought, was probably the end of it all, especially with Umaga having offered an apology of sorts to O'Driscoll.

But here we go again. And Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland can expect to meet an All Blacks side determined to protect their leader just as much in the United Kingdom as they were on home soil.

The travelling environment will only help that. Touring teams are notoriously tight and you can feel Graham Henry's troops drawing closer by the minute as they prepare to open their tour.

The irony is that O'Driscoll won't be there to take on the All Blacks where he should - on the field rather than through the media. He's still recovering from the shoulder surgery and probably won't be back till the new year.

That hasn't stopped him playing a huge role on the tour - on purpose or unwittingly whichever way you want to read this whole messy (and suspicious) set of circumstances.

Yes, O'Driscoll may well sell another few copies of a tour diary from a trip where he played about 40 seconds of test action. But at what price?

O'Driscoll's moans have triggered a new frenzy in the United Kingdom. The All Blacks are certain to be questioned heavily about this again on their arrival in Britain and that will flow on to the second week of the tour when they enter O'Driscoll's homeland in Ireland.

You know that Henry and his All Blacks are already tired of the issue although this time the attacks have included Mealamu rather than the blinkered first salvo that centred purely on Umaga and reeked of trying to unsettle the New Zealand skipper.

And be wary of an irritated All Black. O'Driscoll should know that after his first attempt backfired so horribly. Maybe his beloved Irish side is about to find out - along with Wales, England and Scotland.