I don't think he was targeted by the AB's when the Lions toured, it was just one of those things that happened on the field. I think he lost a lot of respect for continuing to bleet on about it, let it go, rugby is a contact sport.
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Well that's just your thinking. Most people Ive heard comment on it say it looked like a targetting.
Fits in with the way modern sports are going these days. Take soccer - the elbow in the face when going for a header or the simulated foul are happening all the time in order to get an advantage. The All blacks knew that O Driscoll was the danger man and if he could be taken out, well.... But what's worse with Umaga is that spearing if it went wrong could have broken O Driscoll's neck.
It seems that since then O Driscoll has said a little too much for some people - but I don't agree with that. He discussed in a calm way, the premediated act of violence the All balcks committed against him. He seems to have been genuinely surprised at how Umaga behaved in the aftermath of the tackle.
As regards his off field behaviour, I think he is seen as a decent fella, but at the same time has all the trappings of a superstar. Of course he will annoy people because he is seems to be always in the public eye of late.
But the worst thing about all this is that he has come back as an inferior rugby player. Its my opinion that the injury trigerred the start of the decline every sportsman eventually experiences. He seems to have lost some of his speed and trickery.