• Ireland v Wales, Six Nations, March 13

Gatland full of praise for legendary O'Driscoll

Brian O'Driscoll worked with Warren Gatland during 2009's British & Irish Lions tour © Getty Images

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Wales coach Warren Gatland has paid a glowing tribute to Brian O'Driscoll on the eve of his 100th Test cap for Ireland.

The Ireland skipper will follow his team-mate John Hayes in securing membership of arguably Test rugby's most exclusive club when they play host to Wales in the Six Nations at Croke Park on Saturday. O'Driscoll becomes the 13th player to reach the landmark for their country having already reached the 100 cap mark last November thanks to his six Test appearances for the British & Irish Lions .

Former Ireland coach Gatland handed O'Driscoll his international debut against Australia in Brisbane almost 11 years ago, and he has been thrilled by the Leinster centre's rise to world-great status. Gatland, who was in charge of Ireland for 38 Tests between 1998 and 2001, also worked with O'Driscoll on last summer's British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

"I gave him his first cap, and it was an honour for me to be involved with him with the Lions last year to see how he has developed," said Gatland. "I was incredibly impressed with his leadership and his understanding of the game. He was one of the main reasons (Wales centre) Jamie Roberts ended up having such a good tour.

"He deserves all the accolades, and I will be one of the first to stand up in the coaching box on Saturday and clap him. I am absolutely delighted for him and proud I have had an association with him. Brian has got natural flair, is a good passer off both hands, has got a step and fantastic pace. He would most definitely be in most people's World XV of the last decade."

O'Driscoll has enjoyed a glittering career, featuring on the last three Lions tours - including captaining the 2005 squad in New Zealand - leading Ireland 63 times, winning a Six Nations title, Grand Slam, four Triple Crowns and the Heineken Cup with Leinster.

Gatland though, turns the clock back to Paris in 2000, for his favourite O'Driscoll memory. O'Driscoll, just two months after his 21st birthday, produced a mesmeric performance that March afternoon at Stade de France. He scored three tries as Ireland beat a French side that included the likes of Emile Ntamack, Philippe Bernat-Salles and Abdel Benazzi - and Gatland has never forgotten it.

"That is my greatest memory of Brian - the hat-trick of tries he scored when Ireland beat France in Paris for the first time in 27 years," added Gatland. "I remember the French great Philippe Sella coming into the changing room to congratulate him afterwards and saying it was one of the most impressive centre performances he had ever seen."

Wales will aim to gatecrash the O'Driscoll celebrations this weekend, but their respect for him runs throughout their side. Flanker Martyn Williams, a colleague of O'Driscoll's on three Lions tours, will be his opposite number in Dublin after taking over captaincy duties from an injured Ryan Jones.

"Brian is without doubt the best player in the northern hemisphere over the last decade, and probably one of the greatest ever," said Williams. "For me, there is nothing he can't do. A lot of players maybe are really good defenders and have great passing skills, but he's got the complete package. I cannot speak highly enough of him. He is an unbelievable player."

Williams has also warned his side that they will have to be patient as they bid to derail Ireland's quest for a Triple Crown. The match will be Williams' 95th cap - a new record for a Wales forward - and the seventh time he has led his country. But statistics do not interest the 34-year-old flanker, who would rather a victory that would send Wales' rollercoaster Six Nations campaign back on an upward curve.

"I don't think we are playing badly," claimed Cardiff Blues star Williams. "But we haven't helped ourselves, particularly early on in games, which is well-documented. If we play with a little bit of control early on, we are confident we can cause sides problems. It is about playing in the right areas, whereas I felt in the first couple of games we maybe tried to score every time we had the ball. You have got to be patient at international level because defences are so good. We've got a game-plan for Saturday and, if we put that in place, I am sure we will cause Ireland problems."

Williams is among seven survivors from the Wales starting line-up that beat Ireland 16-12 at Croke Park two years ago. The win secured a Triple Crown - Wales then clinched the Six Nations title and Grand Slam a week later by defeating France - while another success on Saturday would dash Irish Triple Crown hopes.

"When I came out of retirement a couple of years ago, I was warned by a very experienced player, 'as soon as you have a bad game when you are over 30, people will automatically call for you to be dropped and say there needs to be a change,'" he added. "So I knew it was only a matter of time before it was going to happen to me. It is water off a duck's back, really. People say they want change and that's fair enough, it is just one of those things.

"As a player, you cannot let that influence you in any way or wear you down. You've just got to concentrate on going out and doing the best you can. I was very happy with the way I played against England, I thought it went really well. I didn't have a good game against Scotland, particularly in the first-half, but after the France match it was very difficult to pick out anyone and say they had a bad game. I don't think my form has been that bad, to be honest with you. Obviously, a lot of people do, but provided my team-mates and the coaches are happy that is the main thing."

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