Rugby Union: O'driscoll's Dazzling Form Reveals New Horizons for Ireland

The words of another Dubliner echoed down the years on Sunday night. Oscar Wilde once informed a customs official he had "nothing to declare except my genius" and Brian O'Driscoll should borrow the line when he pops over to London tomorrow for the Six Nations launch. If he can reproduce his weekend form for Leinster over the next two months, world rugby will rise to him.

It is a mysterious and frustrating fact of life that the vibrant Heineken Cup now retreats into hibernation until the quarter-finals in April but O'Driscoll's performance has already lent an extra dimension to this year's Six Nations fixture list. Ireland's captain gave a display of centre-threequarter play against Bath at the Recreation Ground which, in terms of poise, daring and execution could not have been bettered by Mike Gibson in his prime. The question is how closely certain national coaches were watching.

O'Driscoll, in two key respects, has single-handedly done more to regenerate his sport than any other northern hemisphere player this season. First, in inspiring Leinster to their stunning 35-23 victory, he gave a technical masterclass in how to give and take a pass, how to time a run and how to create holes for his team-mates. Much praise, quite rightly, was lavished on his sinuous, eel-like break from his own half which set up a sumptuous try finished by the former Wasps prop Will Green. As with O'Driscoll's try in the first Test for the Lions against Australia in Brisbane in 2001, no one could touch him. Less obvious, but equally telling, were the little looping midfield runarounds and the hip-swivelling pass to James Heaslip in the build-up to his own second-half try. Most players track slightly sideways when they throw such passes; O'Driscoll, with his classical centre's pin-point delivery, might have been posing for a coaching video.

Second, he and Leinster demonstrated what is possible for sides who do not possess the full metal jacket up front. With the under-rated Shane Horgan a crucial figure at the restarts and providing a ball-carrying presence all over the pitch, Bath's pack found the game unfolding a couple of steps removed from their preferred battle grounds. Over in Limerick another No13, Barry Murphy, was also leading Sale a merry dance, carrying the ball in two hands and using footwork and pace to create havoc. Confronted with Murphy's now-trademark "Thomond Shuffle" the Sharks had no answer.

Which is where both Ireland and England, under Eddie O'Sullivan and Andy Robinson respectively, come in. Both had their players in training camps yesterday and both have interesting selectorial decisions to make over the coming week. O'Sullivan has been quickest off the mark, calling up the 23-year-old Murphy to his squad yesterday as cover for Girvan Dempsey, who has a calf problem. A total of 17 Irish players were unavailable for training after their weekend exertions, prompting O'Sullivan to cancel a planned session, but they will be raring to resume soon enough.

O'Sullivan will surely also realise he could enjoy the best of both worlds if he unleashes a combination of Munster forwards and Leinster backs, augmented by talented youths such as Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe of Ulster and, in the not too distant future, the aforementioned No8 Heaslip. Ireland had a dismal autumn but suddenly O'Sullivan has in-form, quality options all over the place. Now O'Driscoll is back, O'Sullivan should be bolder himself and allow his playmakers their heads.

Robinson, though, may just be feeling the faintest hint of alarm. All the signs seem to point to England rolling out a juggernaut pack and attempting to put the squeeze on their first opponents. It may well be enough against Wales, whose injury list is threatening to cripple their ambition. But what befell Bath, some smart coaches will be thinking, could happen to England unless Robinson unearths a midfield gamebreaker or two of his own.

The good news for Robinson is that there is no direct statistical link between performance in the Six Nations and the number of Heineken Cup quarter-final spots claimed by the respective countries in the same year. Last season no Welsh region made the last eight yet they won a grand slam; England had three knock-out representatives, as this year, and came fourth. What the Heineken Cup does do, though, is prepare individuals better for the intensity of Test rugby which permits teams like Ireland to increase their strength in depth.

France could probably field three XVs of the requisite quality; Biarritz are leading the domestic Top 14 competition yet supply only four of the match-day 22 for Murrayfield. That is what you call ominous. But the memory of what O'Driscoll did to Bath refuses to fade. He looks determined to prove a post-Lions point, not least to those who questioned his form in his first two games back from shoulder surgery. If he cuts loose, all Ireland will go wild with him.

Does Heineken Cup affect Six Nations?

2001 Six Nations1 England 2 Ireland 3 Scotland 4 Wales 5 France 6 Italy

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 2, Wales 2, Ireland 1

2002 Six Nations1 France 2 England 3 Ireland 4 Scotland 5 Wales 6 Italy

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 2, Ireland 2, Wales 1

2003 Six Nations 1 England 2 Ireland 3 France 4 Scotland 5 Italy 6 Wales

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 2, Ireland 2, Wales 1

2004 Six Nations 1 France 2 Ireland 3 England 4 Wales 5 Italy 6 Scotland

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 2, Ireland 1, Wales 1, Scotland 1

2005 Six Nations 1 Wales 2 France 3 Ireland 4 England 5 Scotland 6 Italy

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 3, Ireland 2

2006

Heineken Cup quarter-finalists France 3, England 3, Ireland 2