Fancy a Flutter?

If there is any proof needed that you can bet on anything then this is it.  Place your bets for the wedding of Ireland international Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman.

O'Driscoll will tie the knot with his actress girlfriend in Leitrim today and if you fancy a flutter there is a whole host of big day betting specials.

Bookies Paddy Power are offering odds of 4/7 that the Ireland skipper will start blubbing during his speech and a controversial 10-1 that his old flame, model Glenda Gilson, will turn up at the wedding.

Then of course there is the traditional bet on the the length of the best man's speech.  Just how long will Damien O’Donoghue talk about Ireland's favourite son?  More than 10 minutes pays out at 9/4.

Another bet that could grab your imagination is who will catch Amy's bouquet. Rob Kearney, Brian's Leinster and Ireland teammate, might be sweating as current squeeze Susie Amy is looking likely with odds of 8-1.  Kearney's ex-girlfriend, Ruth O'Neill, will also be jostling for position at 12-1. Then again if you fancy an outside bet you could plump for Ms Gilson at 100-1 - if she turns up that is.

Finally, if you're feeling fruity, why not have a punt on when the happy couple will have their first baby?  With odds of 6/5 that we will hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet sometime next year it seems the bookies think it's almost a certainty.

All this is very romantic I'm sure you'll agree.  Still, the newlyweds could be laughing all the way to the betting shop in a few years' time as the bookies have given them two free €100 bets - the first will pay €100,000 if their first daughter wins an Oscar while the second will pay €10,000 if their first son follows in his dad’s footsteps and plays rugby for Ireland.


Betting aside, I would like to wish Brian and Amy a lovely day and a long and happy marriage.  Aw.

Man of the Month: December

It's another post for the girls I'm afraid as it's time to announce the lucky player who is the recipient of my (not very) prestigious Man of the Month award.

With the IRB failing to fall for his Irish charms and twinkle-toed side-step and after they ignored his excellent year on rugby pitches all over the world, I feel that it is only right for me to help redress some of the balance.

Yes, there can only be one player on my shortlist for this month's accolade, and that player is the one and only Brian O'Driscoll: rugby maestro and crinkly-eyed favourite of the ladies.

Anyone fancy a roll in the grass with Brian?  Oh, go on then...

All together now ladies: swoon...

Here are some more pictures of the lovely Brian:

Enjoying a fun run with ROG

Getting a taste for the 6 Nations trophy before he helped Ireland win it this year

Musing on the wisdom of adding tomatoes to a salad...

With his fiancée, the lovely Amy Huberman

Fortunately his bad hair days are a thing of the past

A well deserved winner I think.

BOD is Still God...

...well in Ireland anyway.

Congratulations to crinkly-eyed, twinkle-toed Brian O'Driscoll who picked up the Player of the Year award at the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland awards dinner earlier this week.

In BOD we trust

I suppose that O'Driscoll was the obvious candidate for this accolade.  I mean, this year he led Ireland to their first Six Nations Grand Slam in sixty-one years, he was a major part of the thrilling Leinster side that lifted the Heineken Cup, and don't forget the world class performances he put in for the Lions over the summer.  Not bad, Brian, not bad.

So the question on everyone's lips is has to be:

"What is O'Driscoll going to do to top all this in 2010?"

How about back to back Grand Slam and Heineken Cup wins? 
Yeah, that would be a good start...

However I'm pretty sure there are plenty of Ireland rugby fans looking to the future of the Irish game, and in 2010 they will all be urging Brian to whisk his bride-to-be Amy Huberman up the aisle as quickly as possible.  That way, Brian can get started on the miracle of creating the second coming - aka the procreation of Brian O'Driscoll Jnr.

Amen to that.