DRISMAS COMES EARLY; Grand Slam is in the bag.. now excited Bri can't wait for Euro semi & Lions tour.

Byline: RUAIDHRI O'CONNOR

MAYBE it was the two hours he'd just spent with excited children filled with Grand Slam fever and natural curiosity that prepared him.

But Brian O'Driscoll was relaxed and confident as he faced the media yesterday at Ashbourne RFC.

You would never have known that fresh from beating Glasgow the night before, the Ireland skipper was facing into another massive week in his rugby career with Munster lying in wait at Croke Park on Saturday.

But perhaps the old head is getting used to these things.

The Six Nations medal is in his pocket, his seat on the plane to South Africa with the Lions is booked.

The big games keep coming and at this stage of his career he is starting to enjoy the hype.

He beamed: "I'm looking forward to it, I think I'll be a lot more relaxed this time than the semi in 2006. I'll just treat it as another game and try and be relaxed.

"I was very tense for that and I think I probably got caught up in the whole media hype around it all but I don't think that'll be the case this time around.

"I'll just enjoy the week's training and just look forward to what should be a fantastic occasion.

"Getting to play a Heineken Cup semi-final in Croker will be something special.

Hopefully we can give the crowd a good spectacle." Speaking at an HSBC rugby festival in the Meath town it was clear that the defeat three years ago still rankles - and O'Driscoll admitted that revenge is on Leinster's minds this time out.

He added: "I suppose there's always an element of revenge against Munster in that they've been the team to beat in Europe for a number of years and of course they're the ones who we lost our last semi-final to.

"I think we always look forward to playing them because it's a big challenge.

"We know what a quality outfit they are but we know too that when we click were capable of beating anyone in Europe as we've shown in the past." And O'Driscoll will have no problems in turning the friends he had such success with only a month ago into enemies - at least for 80 minutes.

"It's really not that difficult to be honest, we're well versed in it at this stage because we've done it for plenty of years.

"This is the first time that we've won a Grand Slam together.

"We did have great camaraderie and great team spirit in the national team and we do get on but there's no difficulty in separating your provincial set-up from your international." One fascinating element of Saturday's clash will be seeing how the experienced campaigner will handle the Lions' bolter and to many the pretender to his throne, Keith Earls.

And O'Driscoll is looking forward to perhaps teaching the youngster a thing or two.

He said: "I think it should be an exciting game for both of us to try and pit our wits against one another and try and get the better of each other. He's shown some great form over the last while and he'll be a handful.

"But I'd like to think that he'll have his hands full as well." O'Driscoll certainly appears to enjoy the rivalry and is looking forward to the occasion.

But one thing that gets to the Ireland skipper is the "Lunsters", Munster fans who come from within the Leinster borders.

He commented: "I would be lying if I said that it didn't disappoint me.

"You have to be proud of where you come from. I think it's the case and you can't help that.

"I suppose it's a little bit fickle in that people do like supporting teams that win."

BRIAN O'Driscoll is an HSBC Lions ambassador and was at an HSBC Rugby Festivals in Dublin. HSBC is currently running the world's largest schools rugby programme across all four home nations.

CAPTION(S):

HAVING A BALL O'Driscoll is looking forward to a huge period in his rugby career CHILD'S PLAY A RELAXED Brian O'Driscoll takes part in HSBC training session yesterday BROKEN DREAMS Tomas O'Leary, inset, is carried off on Friday night