Former British and Irish Lions great Brian O’Driscoll can never fully separate himself from Australia. He debuted for Ireland against the Wallabies in 1999 in Brisbane, facing his boyhood hero Tim Horan, before scoring one of the great tries for the Lions in the first Test in the same city two years later.

One of rugby’s greatest ever players is back in Sydney for the first time since 2013, when he was sensationally dropped by Lions coach Warren Gatland for the final Test against the Wallabies, which the touring side went on to win and seal the series.

Now happily retired, O’Driscoll is falling in love with Australia all over again. O’Driscoll can finally appreciate the beauty of the country after years of seeing it mostly through bus and aeroplane windows as a player. One of the best outside centres to ever play the game has also relished the opportunity of watching Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at close range.

“You always pay attention when a 20-year-old is the guy who gets sent off in a State of Origin game for a horrific high shot, you kind of go, ‘wow’,” O’Driscoll said.

“Whether it’s a good shot or not, you see he’s throwing it about and he’s 20 years of age, I always think with those guys, there’s something there.

“If you’ve got that edge as well as all of the skill set, you’ve got a crazy talent on your hands. It’s just about getting him quality ball.

“(In the second Test) if you see the ball that he got, what he did with the break (to set up Tom Wright’s try). There hasn’t been much of that in the two Tests...If he sticks it out, he’ll be an amazing international, but he also needs a lot of help on the inside to give him a platform and opportunity.”

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was sent off for this hit on Reece Walsh in Origin in 2024.

O’Driscoll played outside centre 141 times for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions, after developing into the position as a talented schoolboy five-eighth. The Irishman understands the intense defensive demands involved for Suaalii, who has had to quickly adapt from retreating 10 metres in the NRL. O’Driscoll is open-minded about Suaalii’s best position on the field.

“I know he’s been playing a bit of 15 for the Waratahs and he’s obviously so athletic, so from an aerial point of view, he’s a little bit like Israel Folau, giving him ownership of that backfield and that’s a great starting point,” O’Driscoll said.

“I don’t know what his kicking game is really like, we haven’t seen much of it in union, but when you’re elusive and you’re strong, maybe you don’t have to pigeonhole him into being in one position, maybe he can play multiple positions.

“The thing at 13 is he can be creative and destructive, but at 15, if you’ve got a good team that doesn’t kick the ball stupidly to players like him and you press hard, it can be difficult to really make a difference.

“Whereas at 13, if you get a reasonable platform, you should be able to show off your skill set.”

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has received a ringing endorsement from one of the greatest centres to play the game

O’Driscoll was in the stands at the MCG to see the Lions stage a memorable comeback and seal the series. As a player, he excelled at turnovers at rucks, understanding the physical risks involved in putting your head and neck over the ball. The Dubliner has watched the Carlo Tizzano and Jac Morgan penalty incident and understands both the Wallabies’ and the Lions’ arguments.

“My gut was, and it’s very hard to say, biased. I think a year ago, that could have been a penalty, but I think the laws have recalibrated a little bit around understanding the confrontational part of the game,” O’Driscoll said.

“It’s a very, very close call on both fronts, don’t get me wrong. We (the Lions) probably would have been annoyed, but it felt like I was happy to see it, but I don’t know if that’s just my bias.

“You won’t see too many Lions or their supporters saying it was a penalty. I asked one Australian friend, whose opinion I would count, and he said, ‘no penalty for me, mate’. He’s the only Aussie that I’ve heard saying that. I’m not telling you who it was, but a very credible individual in my book.

“So listen, it was one of those (incidents), I think we’ll argue forevermore. But I think from a technique point of view, Jac Morgan is spot on and from a Lions point of view, it’s a great clear out.”

The former Ireland great understands that with a high possibility of the Lions’ first Test series whitewash in Australia since 1904 ahead of Saturday, it puts the Wallabies’ place on the touring side’s schedule into question.

O’Driscoll was impressed by the Wallabies’ fightback in the second Test and believes that while Lions tours may evolve from their current rota in the Southern Hemisphere, the quality of rugby in this country can never be taken for granted in the future.

Carlo Tizzano of the Wallabies receives medical attention after the clash with Jac Morgan.

“It’s funny, we’re in a world now that you can’t just be hell-bent on tradition, you have to have a malleability to circumstances changing and maybe looking at new opportunities and new options,” O’Driscoll said.

“I just think at the moment, this particular Aussie team isn’t as strong as others, but in a cycle of 12 years time, the game changes.

“They (the Wallabies and Lions) were probably even enough teams 12 years ago and they were very even teams 24 years ago, I think this is just a better Lions outfit now, but that’ll change.

“The only thing is, Australia has struggled for a while. It was the first time being knocked out of the group stage of the World Cup, and it’s just gotten away from them a little bit.

“I don’t know what the participation level is, but interest levels have definitely waned a bit, so it’s just on a bit of a slide at the moment.

“But that’s not to say you can’t get that back. So I wouldn’t be in a mad rush to be writing Australia off just yet.

“But is there the potential for an alternative? People have talked about a Lions tour to France. Who knows? I think you’ve got to have an open mind to these things, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to write off Australia either.”

O’Driscoll lost 36 of his 84 Tests as captain of the Lions and Ireland, joking that he should “have a PhD in panic”. The Irishman is thus well qualified to deal with a distraught dressing room and understand how Wallabies captain Harry Wilson can generate a final memorable performance from his team in Sydney.

“You’re allowed 48 hours to grieve. Just 48 hours, that’s fine, you’ve got to feel sorry for yourself and lick your wounds a little bit and then pick yourself up...it’s not about the result, it’s about putting together a similar performance,” O’Driscoll said.

“They (the Wallabies) really were unlucky not to get the result, they played a great game and I think there’s so much positive to take from that...

“You can’t be a flash in the pan, you can’t just get yourselves up for a test match that really matters, sometimes the hardest ones are the ones that, on the face of it, don’t matter because there’s no outcome at the end and you can’t win from it.

“But it’s more important than that because now it’s about, you know, bringing your crowd along with you, believing you’re building something, and not taking the easy option around kind of folding and going, oh, well, the series is gone.

“It’s about just making sure that you deliver another really good performance and it’ll be close again, irrespective, but if they can deliver a good performance and get a good win, you know, you carry something forward for the next six months.”

Brian O’Driscoll is an ambassador for Howden Insurance, the Principal Partner of the Lions Tour and was speaking exclusively to this masthead as part of their ‘Insuring Greatness’ campaign.

All nine matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.