The Grand Slam dream was in tatters, leaving Brian at the lowest ebb he had ever felt in his professional career. He had done well enough in the game, and he knew his team had what it took to defeat the French. He also knew that a chance like this only came once in a generation for sides like his. He also had to accept his share of responsibility for the second French try, which was partly due to a sloppy error on his part.
Despite his disappointment, Brian knew he had a professional duty to remain positive for the post-match interviews. The Irish public saw the upcoming game against Wales as a Championship decider and they wanted to hear from Brian that there was still all to play for.
Coach Eddie O’Sullivan was as disappointed as any of his players, but he knew that there simply wasn’t time to dwell on this defeat. He decided that the whole squad needed a two-day mini-break to take things easy and lighten the mood in the camp.
They stayed in the grounds of the City West for the duration of the break. There was golf for those who wanted it, as well as time for massage and sauna sessions. Brian decided to take the opportunity to enjoy a few lie-ins and lounge around for a while.
On the Thursday, the squad flew to Cardiff for the crunch-match against Wales. The sheer number of cameras flashing when they arrived at the airport reminded Brian that this was no ordinary game, and fans from both nations expected big things from their players in two days’ time.
Wales had been breathtaking in the Championship thus far. Brian knew Wales coach Mike Ruddock well from his days at Leinster. In fact, it was Mike who had offered Brian his first-ever professional contract. Mike had got Wales playing attacking, running rugby, making Wales a team that could give every nation on the planet a run for their money for the first time in two decades. Brian knew his side would have their work cut out in this massive game.
The day before the match, the squad tested out the Millennium Stadium pitch. Brian was taken aback by his impressive surroundings, and he said at the time that it put the state of Lansdowne Road to shame. He liked the atmosphere the ground could generate, but this was the professional era and Ireland was now a prosperous country that deserved a national rugby stadium far better than this.
Redevelopment was on the cards within the next few years, but there was talk that Ireland would have to play their games at Twickenham or Cardiff while the work was being carried out. This frustrated Brian, who thought the matches could be played at Croke Park, the home of Gaelic football, just a few miles down the road. At the time, it looked as though this was not going to happen for political reasons stated in Rule 42 of the GAA Constitution. In the end, the GAA voted to allow Croke Park to be used temporarily until 2008 for non-Gaelic sports such as rugby and soccer, while Lansdowne Road was redeveloped, and Ireland would play their home games in the 2007 Six Nations at the stadium, which ranks among the world’s best.
Although Brian greatly admired the surroundings of the Millennium Stadium, he knew that the Welsh crowd would give the home team a massive boost and this would be an intimidating place to play.
On the day, the squad made the short coach journey from the Hilton Hotel to the Millennium Stadium and Brian was struck by the sheer number of people out on the streets of Cardiff wearing red. Welsh rugby had never known a day quite like this, certainly not since Wales’s heyday in the 1970s. This was going to be a massive test for his team.
The atmosphere inside the Millennium Stadium was no less intense. Brian felt the full force of a boisterous Welsh crowd as he led his men on to the pitch. The match that followed certainly lived up to its billing.
Ronan’s early penalty kick gave Ireland the lead and Stephen Jones missed the chance to level the scores with a kick of his own a few minutes later. A drop goal from Gavin Henson brought the scores level.
Ireland had the better of the opening exchanges until the 16th minute when Wales scored a try in bizarre circumstances. Brian impressively turned over the Welsh ball and passed out to Ronan, who took rather too long to put the ball into touch, allowing Gethin Jenkins to charge it down, after which he kicked the ball ahead, patiently allowing it to fall over the line before placing himself on top of it. Hardly the sort of try people had got used to seeing in games of this standard, but the fact was it put Wales in front, leaving Ireland with it all to do. Stephen Jones duly converted, before Gavin Henson put another three points on the board with a mammoth kick from inside his own half.
Brian didn’t disappoint with his level of commitment in trying to get Ireland back into the game when he sent Denis Hickie on the charge with the ball, but Girvan Dempsey was held up on the line by a superb Stephen Jones tackle. However, a while later, Brian let his enthusiasm get the better of him when he came in at the side of a ruck, which resulted in Jones adding three more points to the Wales tally.
Ronan’s kicking was as reliable as it had been for most of the tournament and his penalty narrowed the lead shortly before the break, but there was no hiding the enormous fight back Brian and the team had to mount in the second half.
Things went from bad to worse in the opening exchanges of the second half as two penalties from Jones extended the Wales lead to 26–6, and Ronan didn’t make the task any easier by pushing one wide when they most needed him to be on form.
Anthony Foley had a decent chance to score but was forced into touch by Shane Williams. It was clear by the hour mark this wasn’t going to be Ireland’s day. A Kevin Morgan try sealed Ireland’s fate and by now the scoreline was impossible to turn around with just 20 minutes left to play.
Wales became complacent allowing a close-range try by replacement Marcus Horan to bring the score to a respectable 32–20 with seven minutes left, making it a nervous finale for the Welsh fans. However, Wales held their nerve and the Grand Slam was in the bag, in what was one of the most memorable days in Welsh rugby history.
Brian was not as distraught as one might expect following the defeat. He was stoical and gracious, accepting that his team had been beaten by the better side on the day, and there were no excuses and certainly no English-style whingeing from him or any of the Irish camp. Brian said a sincere well done to his old friend Mike Ruddock at the captain’s reception that night.
The following day, he and the rest of the squad headed for Kehoe’s bar in Dublin for the traditional end-of-tournament wind-down. The purpose of this had become a sort of unofficial debrief and to make sure the players felt good about themselves and the state of Irish rugby for the rest of the season. If any of the players had been feeling downbeat following the Wales defeat, they had certainly snapped out of it by the Sunday night and this was to be an old-fashioned rugby gathering, the sort that had largely disappeared in the professional era, and it was time to have some fun and let themselves go at the end of a long, hard campaign.
Brian and some of the others headed out into Dublin for a proper night out that lasted well into the early hours. Needless to say, Brian took the rest of the day off before returning to training with Leinster on the Tuesday. That night was to be the last time the Ireland squad would see each other and be on the same side for a number of months. The end of the Six Nations also marked the end of another era. The Ireland team manager Brian O’Brien was retiring after five years in the post. A quiet, unflappable yet canny operator, he was somebody who Brian O’Driscoll held in high regard and he was sorry to see him leave the setup.
The Six Nations campaign that promised so much yet ultimately led to disappointment was at an end. The first phase of the most important year of Brian’s career was over. It was time to look to the challenges that he was going to face in the months ahead.
THE GREATEST HONOUR, THE GREATEST CHALLENGE
On the following Wednesday morning, Brian was listening to the radio while having his breakfast when he heard an interview with Clive Woodward, who gave details of what he was looking for