There were plenty of 'best' moments to pick from in 2006 . . . the Ryder Cup, Ireland's Triple Crown, Munster's Heineken Cup . . . you could pick one score and more from all three. My vote though goes to 'Ralph' O'Driscoll . . . he gave a performance of substance.

I'm not sure whether the following are listed in the Oxford Concise Dictionary but you all know what they mean . . . to ralph, to chunder, to blow chunks, to barf, a technicolour yawn, to call God on the big white telephone etc.

A few weeks ago on hallowed ground Brian O'Driscoll emptied the contents of his stomach in near enough prime position on the pitch. For me it was a seminal moment . . .in the sense that I now know more about Ireland's Captain than I thought I had done prior to that moment.

I'm a crap patient when I'm sick. I'm miserable. I just curl up in a ball, don't want to talk to anyone, just get the f*** away from me. When I want food again . . . you know I'm better. Everyone knows that awful feeling when you have felt like a bag of kak for a while . . . winter vomiting bug, too much sauce, food poisoning (that f***ing seafood starter . . . d'Unbelievables), flu etc. You can't do anything when you are sick and sometimes it takes a week or two to get over it. Sometimes it is difficult to even press the remote on your TV you feel so drained.

In a rugby situation you often see teammates throw up with nerves an hour or two before kick-off. I have been concussed three times on a rugby field and vomited after each one . . . that's not nice either. The actual act of vomiting is a primal act of nature . . . your system deals with infection/bacteria in a very efficient way.

So when O'Driscoll blarged his guts up, you felt for him. I was unaware of his condition prior to the match (he had been bed-ridden with a stomach bug) he had an ordinary start to the match prior to his 80 metre intercept try. A minute or two later whoosh and it was over . . . he wasn't right when he got up . . . but he would play himself back into it . . . he had to do it quicker than he thought. One of Agen's 19 stone axe murdering forwards ran straight at him 90 seconds later, easy to say 'Sorry I missed that tackle lads . . . I'm not feeling great" . . .

O'Driscoll barreled him . . . put him on his arse.

Leinster scored their bonus point win with an O'Driscoll try in the corner in injury time . . . his hat trick. A phenomenal show of cussedness and determination in adversity.

Everyone has an opinion on Brian O'Driscoll . . . whatever you may think of him . . .there is one unavoidable and unmistakable conclusion to your thoughts and it is this . . . he has the right stuff. Each and every player in that Leinster dressing room knew his condition before the match, they watched their captain empty his stomach and return to the fray . . . when most of us would prefer to retire to the warm comfort of a pillow and our favourite duvet. Whether he likes it or not Brian O'Driscoll is a barometer for his teammates. Their performances re"ect what they see and hear from him. Deep in the dressing room under the west stand, the Leinster players probably sat in silent admiration of their captain . . .how could they not follow such clear example. It most likely inspired them to that great win in the return leg in Agen.

As the man says, life is not measured in the number of breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

Roy Race is not at the races . . . this guy is indeed the right stuff.