Irish rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll has announced one of the next steps in his career following his retirement from playing by confirming he will be working as a regular pundit for BT Sport.
O’Driscoll, who retired at the end of the 2013/14 season as Leinster took the Pro12 trophy for the fourth time, beating Glasgow at the Royal Dublin Showground, is one of the biggest names in the sport and one of rugby’s all-time playing greats.
The Irishman won 133 caps for his country and is the top try scorer of all time in Irish rugby. He also won two Six Nations titles as a player and is the record try scorer in that tournament, and went on four Lions tours and won three Heineken Cups.
His main role for BT Sport will be as a rugby expert on its coverage of the newly formed European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup, which launches in October, working alongside fellow former players and BT pundits Lawrence Dallaglio, Austin Healey and Matt Dawson and fellow Irishman, presenter Craig Doyle.
The former Ireland captain will also appear regularly on BT Sport’s weekly rugby union magazine show Rugby Tonight, as well as become a brand ambassador for the channel alongside the likes of Gareth Bale and Jose Mourinho.
O’Driscoll, who has some previous television experience with the BBC and Sky, said about his new BT role: “I’m excited to be embarking on one of the next steps in my career with BT Sport.
“It’s a big change for me, but I’m looking forward to the challenge and being involved at the inception of the brand new European tournament at a brand new channel like BT Sport.
“I’m joining BT Sport because I’ve been impressed by their new and fresh approach to rugby coverage and I’m looking forward to being a part of their team.”
Grant Best, senior channel executive producer for BT Sport, said: “In the world of rugby Brian is a legend.
“We’re delighted that he has decided to join BT Sport as part of the next stage of his career and that he has chosen to join our Rugby presenting team, he brings a huge amount of knowledge and experience which will be invaluable in our coverage of the new European tournaments.”
BT Sport has the exclusive live rights to Aviva Premiership Rugby and the JP Morgan rugby sevens, plus rights to top live matches from the European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup, sharing these competitions for the first time with rivals Sky Sports.
Rugby union has been at the heart of BT Sport’s live sport schedules since its launch a year ago and has been a huge success in its debut season as a broadcaster, with rugby television audiences up by 40% on the previous season, and fans are now set to enjoy a terrific selection of matches from the European club tournaments.
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