Wales 22 Ireland 30: Fitness not desire will decide what O’Driscoll has left to give

O’Driscoll opened the Six Nations with a man-of-the-match performance headlined by the genius that created the opening try for Simon Zebo, but also notable for his own touch down and a frenzied shift in defence.

With the Lions travelling to Australia this summer and the captaincy up for grabs, it was an immaculately-timed reminder of his enduring brilliance that left opposite number Jonathan Davies – a rival for selection at outside centre against the Wallabies – outclassed.

Bookmakers reacted by promoting the 2005 Lions skipper to favourite to lead the tour after he had started the day third in line behind Sam Warburton and Chris Robshaw.

O’Driscoll has conceded this may be his last Six Nations and yesterday he left the Millennium Stadium with blood coating his nose and his left ear marked by several stitches.

Ankle surgery resulted in his absence from Ireland’s autumn campaign, while shoulder and hamstring problems have troubled him in the past, and he admitted that fitness and not desire will determine his future.

“Who doesn’t like man of the match? They are few and far between these days, but when they’re there you enjoy them,” he said.

“The big thing is trying to be fit and getting as close to 100 per cent fit as you possibly can when you take to the pitch.

“I felt good against Wales, my ankles both felt good, as did all the other bumps and bruises.

“If you can start games that way you have every chance of putting in a half decent performance.”

An entertaining opener in Cardiff saw Ireland establish a 30-3 lead two minutes after the interval, only to then spend the rest of the afternoon hurling themselves at the resurgent Welsh.

O’Driscoll’s ability to fix three defenders with a burst of speed, run into space and well-timed offload that sent Zebo darting over was matched by an outrageous piece of skill from the Munster wing himself.

With Heaslip’s pass heading for the turf, a sprinting Zebo backheeled it with his left foot into his hands to carry on a move that ended with Cian Healy crashing over.

“Simon has got a striker’s potency, likes to finish tries and his skill level for the second try was a joke, keeping the ball up with his foot,” said O’Driscoll.

“It’s nice to watch and nice to have those guys on your team rather than playing against them.

“Zeebs is a very a skilful guys - he’s good with a soccer ball. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and you have to be if you’re doing things like that in your first Six Nations game.”

Arguably the championship’s most entertaining fixture delivered once more and it is Ireland who enter the second weekend – England visit Dublin on Sunday – with a spring in their step.