Life of Brian will get even better

"Things are a lot different now to how they were in 1999. I had just broken into the side then, whereas now people know me and will have isolated my strengths and weaknesses.

"But that doesn't worry me too much because I don't put pressure on myself to break defences on my own.

"There are some fantastic finishers in our side and while there might be limited opportunities for me, one of my major aims is to put others into space."

O'Driscoll will have a chance to put his theories to the test at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, just outside of Sydney, on Saturday when he lines up in a side which is expected to record a big win against Romania.

Already massive underdogs, the Eastern Europeans are also facing the loss of leading try scorer Gabriel Brezoianu, who injured his ankle in training yesterday.

Brezoianu had been expected to play on the wing and a final decision over his fitness will be taken after further treatment later today, but if he doesn't make it, his absence will blow a huge hole in the Romanians' attacking options.

The Irish camp have already played down talk of registering a big win, although if they fail to achieve that aim, and register a four-try bonus point in the process, it would be a major surprise, especially now talismanic hooker Keith Wood is back to guide them.

Wood's return after 12 months out with a shoulder injury should ensure no complacencyenters the Irish camp during the early stages of the competition.

And O'Driscoll is delighted to have his Lions team-mate back, even if it has meant him handing over the captain's duties.

"It would be silly to say having Keith back doesn't take a massive pressure off us," said the Leinster centre.

"He is a lot more than a captain to us. He does a lot of stuff no-one gets to see and a large portion of that I am glad to be handing back to him.

"At the same time, I will still try to lead as I did when I was captain. I always preferred to do it with actions rather than words and I am not going to change my game now."