Interview: Brian O'Driscoll is relishing his return to Australia and believes a few Scots could join him WITH the first matches of the New Year across the four Home Nations comes a new scent for those who would dearly love to become Lions in the summer. At Murrayfield last night, Brian O'Driscoll took his first steps back into the game after nearly three months on the sidelines with an ankle injury. The 33-year-old has missed the entire autumn Test series, along with full-back Rob Kearney, who also returned from injury for Leinster last night. It was good timing for Leinster, as they need to win their final Heineken Cup matches in the next fortnight to re-ignite hopes of retaining the trophy, but also for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions, for whom O'Driscoll is a genuine captain contender. "The age I am now I try not to look too far ahead," he replied, smiling. There is nothing like a Lions tour and it is a huge honour for anyone to be selected, but I think, as is the case with representing your country, once you have had that chance once you are more determined to get another crack. I try not to look back, but there is a big part of me that would like to experience the emotions of winning a Test series in this famous red jersey, and if I was asked to be captain again it would be impossible to turn down, even though there are huge stresses that go with it. O'Driscoll captained the Lions in 2005, but did not last long after being spear-tackled by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu in the opening stages of the first Test, and invalided out of the tour. He toured in 2009 with compatriot Paul O'Connell taking over as skipper, but if O'Driscoll comes through the Six Nations unscathed and in form, even at 34 he remains the kind of widely-respected leader to take the team into Wallaby territory. It was there 12 years ago that the young Irishman really exploded into the wider sporting consciousness, scoring a wonder try on his debut Test in Brisbane, which ended in a 29-13 victory. Though the Lions lost the next two Tests narrowly, and so the series, O'Driscoll has gone on from that platform to become one of world rugby's greatest players. Born in Clontarf, Dublin, in 1979 to two GPs, O'Driscoll hails from a sporting family and is probably as close as one could get to Irish royalty without being a member. He was invited to the wedding of Prince William and Kate in 2011, but only his wife, the Irish actress Amy Huberman, went as he was preparing for Leinster's Heineken Cup semi-final with Toulouse the following day. He did attend the state dinner marking HM The Queen's historic visit to the Republic of Ireland that May. The Dubliner has played in four World Cups, is the most-capped Irishman and one of the most-capped players in world rugby - with 120 Tests for Ireland and six for the Lions - and holds the records for most tries by a centre in rugby history (45 with Ireland and one for the Lions), most tries in the home nations championship (25) and most tries by an Irishman in the Heineken Cup (30). No-one has captained their national side more times either in world rugby. One might imagine that there was little left for O'Driscoll to achieve, but then he is handed a red jersey and asked to help model the latest Lions design, and the dimples re-appear in the O'Driscoll cheeks. He has been invited to be an ambassador for the Lions" 2013 tour to Hong Kong and Australia, alongside such greats as Gavin Hastings, Jason Robinson and Jonathan Davies. But, in a break from filming an HSBC/Lions advert, he is quick to make the point that he is not ready for long days on the golf course listening to Hastings" anecdotes quite yet, and that memory of 2001 and his first Lions experience lies at the heart of his ambition. "The 2001 tour to Australia would have been a great highlight in my career," he begins, "if the Lions had won the series. That might sound strange because it was a great tour in many ways, but, for me, the more time goes by the less of a career highlight it becomes, and just more of a frustration. There are great memories, just from being on my first tour and that first Test in Brisbane will live long in the memory of course. It was fantastic to run out in a stadium in Australia rocking with fans in red. We knew we had a big following, but didn't expect that. And then to score and go on to win the first Test was incredible. But, the fact is that we should have won the second Test, and we put ourselves in a position to win it, and let the lead slip with a bad half of rugby. We came close, but just lost that third Test too, so when I reflect on it all I can see is a massive missed opportunity. At the time I went it was a huge thing for me, to be selected to wear the red jersey that many great Irishmen, and of course many great Scots, Englishmen and Welshmen, had all worn down the years, and then to get to play in the Test matches, and then score, was just wonderful, and that is all that you think about then. But when you have been privileged to go on another tour and another, and see the work that goes into them, how much players put in to making themselves good enough, to come together as a team quickly and compete, and to really push teams like New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and still not get there, you understand that a series win is a very, very difficult thing to achieve. Maybe the most difficult in the game of rugby. So that's why when you ask me to look back to 2001, I just see a huge missed opportunity. So, while the birth of his first child this year will be a big event, and for all that he knows how easily hopes can be dashed by injury, there is little else in the O'Driscoll mind that can matter more now than the Lions" bid to return to claim a first Test series win in 16 years and first in Australia since Fin Calder's pride of 1989. We talk about Calder's troops and Scots who have played key roles in the Lions tours, and he speaks highly of Andy Irvine, who will manage the 2013 trip. As a Celt who feels more affinity with Scottish than English rugby he shares concerns about Scotland's failure to bring much input to tours he has featured on, but is hopeful that might improve somewhat this year. "I have always seen Scotland a bit like ourselves," he said. They have lacked consistency as a national side, and the pro teams do at times as well, but you can see the quality in the teams and everyone knows that they are capable of big performances. You've seen it in wins against us at Croke Park in 2010, away in Argentina, against Australia and South Africa at Murrayfield, and, okay the conditions were not great and it was midweek, but that was a great win in Australia last summer. It hasn't come together consistently and there has been a big difference between the big performances and the poor have been vast. When they've fallen off, like against Italy last year or Tonga, it hasn't been good. I know what that feels like because we [Ireland] have done that too - playing well and competing and then playing poorly and being ripped apart. Scotland, I think, looking from the outside, need to bring the good and the bad performances much closer together. It's difficult for us I think to maintain a high level of consistency because we don't have the players the southern hemisphere nations have, or even England and Wales, but if you keep improving your good performances and learn how to still be competitive and stick in when the poorer ones come along you can do things because, actually, other than New Zealand, very few teams are consistently brilliant. I don't know Scott Johnson really - I've never worked under him - but I'm sure he'll be looking to get them consistent through the Six Nations. So how many Scots does he think could feature when Warren Gatland names his 35-man squad? Again it's very like us. It's tough, but we both have quality players who have the ability to excel on a Lions tour. I tell you one you straight off in Scotland - Nick de Luca. I don't see his name quoted, but I've played against Nick quite a lot and he is a good player, one of the trickiest centres I've played against. I haven't seen a lot of Stuart Hogg yet, but from what I have seen he is a very talented lad. To score a hat-trick against Munster at Limerick is not easy, and a player with his ability to beat players can flourish on a Lions tour. David Denton looks like a good player and Scotland just seem to always uncover good back rowers. The one that everybody talks about is Richie Gray, who is obviously a good player, but he is suffering from playing in a team that is not going well yet, so he could do with a good second half of the season and good performances with Scotland. And the other obvious one is Tim Visser. He is a phenomenal try scorer and you need players with the ability to find the line and finish on a Lions tour. You will always get good players inside creating chances but you need players with the pace and confidence to finish off and Visser has shown he has that. So add them to the experienced guys who toured last time, Euan Murray, Mike Blair, Ross Ford and maybe even Nathan Hines, and we've talked about nine potential Lions without giving it much thought. But it's like us. You have to show form, consistently. We both could have three or four players on the tour, but if Scotland and Ireland have a good Six Nations we could have seven or eight, and that makes the next few months pretty exciting I think. As we discuss the Lions and arguments that have raged after tours like that of 2005, as to the worth of the Lions, and the difficulty in moulding a competitive team in a few weeks in the professional game, O'Driscoll just shakes his head. I see it from a player's point of view, and the Lions experience is unique. It's not just the idea of four countries playing as one, but, for me, it's the whole thing about players who have grown up as huge rivals, who have looked across the home unions wanting to beat that country or this country more than anyone else, coming together to be part of the same high-quality team. You have to step out of your comfort zone and befriend guys that were your bitter enemies, and you become a better player and person for that. I've got to know guys in Scotland, England and Wales that I never even came across on the field much, guys with differing motivation and from very different backgrounds, with different ideas on the game. You go into the Lions camp with preconceived ideas about players and teams, and then find guys are actually very different, and the beauty of the Lions is that all those characters are moulded into it. I find that exciting. It is evident as he speaks, the passion clear as his speech speeds up much like the way he accelerated into contact with venom last night. We spoke before O'Driscoll took to the field for Leinster against Edinburgh, but the centre was champing at the bit to pull the jersey on and begin his quest for a fourth Lions tour. As I've said, I try not to look too far into the future these days, so my focus has been just on getting myself fit for this Edinburgh game. It has been a frustrating time out of the game, but it's part of rugby now and most players go through serious injury at some point. I enjoyed Christmas, but we were still pretty full-on with training. We're the entertainment these days over the Christmas and New Year period and so I'm used to it being normal, but you do have that extra desire when you're working hard to get back playing. For me, though, the big focus is now on getting my match fitness and form back, and pushing for a place in the Ireland team in the Six Nations, which won't be easy. Only when that's achieved, and the Six Nations is over, can I think about the possibility of another Lions adventure, and a return to where that all began for me. Brian O'Driscoll is an HSBC ambassador. As proud Principal Partner of The British & Irish Lions on their Tour to Australia next year, HSBC is offering all customers an exclusive 30% discount on the official replica Lions jersey at https://store.lionsrugby.com/discount