Bod vows to fight fire with fire

And the season won't end there for the man they call Bod as he is also preparing for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in June.

The 30-year-old centre took time to visit Canary Wharf's HSBC headquarters where he unveiled an enormous Lions jersey in Canada Square, part of the bank's scheme to help rugby fans support the game at grass roots level while also winning a ticket to join the tour.

And it looks like proving to be a huge event against the world champion South Africans known for their aggression.

O'Driscoll said the Lions would be fighting fire with fire on their forthcoming tour.

He said: "Individually a lot of the players would have beaten South Africa at some point in their career with their own national team.

"A lot is made of the physicality that South Africa bring to the game. They are a hugely physical team but I certainly fancy our chances looking at some of the Lions' pack.

"They aren't small men and don't take backwards steps too often. I'm sure we won't be far away in matching their intensity and physicality."

The one downside for O'Driscoll in 2009 is losing out on the Lions captaincy, which he has admitted was disappointing.

However, he said he would support the new captain, fellow Irishman, Paul O'Connell and added the only thing that matters was winning the tour.

He said: "It's another opportunity to do something I haven't done before and winning a Test series and being part of something that will be remembered for many, many years.

"The Lions have good memories of being in South Africa, namely in 1974 and in 1997, so it will be nice to have our names bandied around with some of the legends involved in those games."

O'Driscoll will be hoping his golden year, especially his triumph in the Six Nations, continues on to the tour.

He was pivotal in Ireland's first Grand Slam win since 1948, which saw huge celebrations in his homeland.

He said: "This Irish team has been together for a long time and we've been promising things but hadn't delivered.

"This year we finally achieved the Grand Slam but we certainly won't be resting on our laurels. Other sides will try to take the Championship and there will be a lot to worry about, but that's for next year."

After admitting that he's facing a year of decisions about what to do post-career, O'Driscoll was quick to rule out one pursuit popularised by some of his former fellow rugby players.

He said: "I actually got an invite to go on Strictly Coming Dancing so I think they must be scraping the barrel.

"I told them that unfortunately at the time I was unable to do the show. Somehow I don't think so. If you saw me on a Saturday night you'd think I'd be out the first week."

For a chance to win a ticket for the Lions tour and to find out more about how the giant jersey is helping rugby at its grass roots, go to lionsrugby.com/hsbc.