Brian O’driscoll Honoured At Bt Sport Industry Awards
Leinster, Ireland and Lions great Brian O’Driscoll was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award, sponsored by Singha Beer, at the BT Sport Industry Awards in London on Thursday night – becoming the first Irishman to win the coveted prize.
Unable to collect the Award in person because of the weekend’s playing commitments, O’Driscoll received the Award and addressed his thanks via video link. On stage at the Awards ceremony in London, England’s Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood gave a passionate speech on O’Driscoll’s merits, describing him as: “A once-in-a-lifetime player who spanned generations and who has helped write Ireland’s rugby future. He was like the Madonna of Irish and world rugby – just when you thought he was past it, he would suddenly pop back up.”
Greenwood earnestly concluded: “Deep down, we all wanted Brian to be on our team.”
O’Driscoll commented: “I am absolutely honoured to receive the Award and follow in the footsteps of the likes of David Beckham, Tanni Grey-Thompson and the other legends who have received this Award. Thank you to the judges for choosing me this year and thank you to all my teammates over the years at Leinster, Ireland and the Lions.”
The Award comes on the eve of O’Driscoll’s retirement from a 16-year career which has seen him become the most-capped player in rugby union history, having played 141 test matches: 133 for Ireland, 83 as captain, and eight for the British and Irish Lions. He has scored 46 tries for Ireland, making him the country’s highest try scorer of all time. Among his accolades he also holds the Six Nations record for most tries scored, with 26.
The Outstanding Contribution Award to Sport, sponsored by Singha Beer, recognises and rewards the individual, team or organisation whose actions have made the most impact in the world of sport. Previous winners include Sir Alex Ferguson, Team GB, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Beckham.
BT are the Headline Partners of the BT Sport Industry Awards. Official Partners include Barclays, Deloitte and Eurosport. For more information on the event and the winners, go to
