Perfect stage to earn White stripes

Brian O'Driscoll's diary: Test defeats, partying, golfing, holidays, pre-season grind and Declan Kidney at Leinster - oh yeah, bring on the Springboks

The summer South African Tests culminated in acute disappointment. We travelled there on the back of a good Six Nations Championship, were handed a huge opportunity to become the first Ireland side to win on South African soil and ultimately we failed. No matter what way you dress it up we didn't deserve to win.

The season had been a long and tough one and so when the final whistle went in the second Test it was time to draw a line under it, no matter how unsatisfactory the conclusion. When you watch what you eat, watch where you go, watch what you do and watch what you drink for 10 months or so, there has to be a blow out.

Players need that safety valve to return to a "normal existence" even if it's just for a few weeks. We stayed on in South Africa and enjoyed the hot spots of Cape Town, a beautiful city, for a few days. It's fair to say our research into the nightlife was exhaustive.

Shane Horgan and myself were due to stay on for an extra day but by the Tuesday we had reached the "t" in partied out. Instead we raced to the airport to see if we could get a flight out that night. We were initially placed on standby and had to endure that wait as people trickled past to check-in. The closer it came to flight time the more our anxiety grew.

In the end we boarded with just 10 minutes to spare. The one regret outside of Test issues was that I didn't make it up Table Mountain in Cape Town. I tend to shy away from anything energetic in the build-up to a game, preferring to ramble round the streets. But I'll be back, as the Californian Governor might say.

A four-week holiday beckoned before having to return for a 10-week pre-season training. I pretty much stayed at home - I went to Spain for a long weekend and Italy for a week - and it was hugely enjoyable because of that decision. At home there was the added bonus of not having to worry about public scrutiny. I could go and do pretty much what I pleased, within reason.

I rekindled my golfing career, mainly in Seafield and Royal Dublin, and came within three inches of an albatross on a par five at the former course in a less than perfect round. My attitude to golf is that I like to play with friends, have a bit of craic, and if I play well, it's a bonus.

With pre-season looming the thought struck me that it was the first time in my professional career I wasn't looking forward to getting back into rugby. I could have done with another two weeks of rest and relaxation.

I don't know how I would have handled it had the national squad been bound for Spala in Poland, our own little boot camp. Thank you Liam Hennessy for not sending us this year.

The idea in our pre-season was to put on a couple of kilos over your playing weight and then lose those as you gradually get match fit. I would never have dreamed of being 97kgs (15 ½ stone) in my life, it's a lot heavier than I anticipated but I gradually turned it into muscle.

The 10-week pre-season was a grind. I don't play rugby to train; I play to play. I struggled to be enthusiastic but having emerged on the other side, I can see the benefits. By week eight you're just dying to play although my first experience pitch-side was as a water carrier in Leinster's game against the Borders at Donnybrook.

There were obviously a few smart remarks but it was a positive experience which emphasises squad unity and would be typical of Dec's (Declan Kidney) attitude. There are times in a match when you're able to see things from the sideline that those on the pitch wouldn't be aware of, so it can be useful to offer a few words. I really got into it by the end of the game.

Mind you in several cases players were blowing so hard they couldn't have been listening to me at all.

On a playing front the Gwent Dragons match marked the return to Leinster colours for several national squad players. We were a little off match pace and not quite the dogs-out-of-traps scenario that we had envisaged beforehand.

Dec's arrival at Leinster has been very positive. We were lacking in organisation and he has brought a discipline and structure but not in a smothering way.

Matt Williams began the changes that were required during his time in charge but I think they fell away in Gary Ella's year. Declan spoke with the senior players, listened to what we felt was working well and together a game plan has been put in place.

He's an excellent motivator and I remember one instance in particular from the under-19 World Cup triumph in 1998. During the tournament he asked us why we shouldn't win this competition; what had the other countries got that we didn't. It was a small thing but it struck a cord.

Being in camp and preparing for the South Africa match has left us a little stir crazy. There are only so many films you can go to see, so many DVDs that you can watch or games of darts that you can play. Still there was a chance to get a first-hand look at new cap Johnny O'Connor. He's a tough, tough man and has perfected that slightly manic, occasionally glassy-eyed stare so beloved of openside flankers.

It's that "I've-no-respect-for-my-body syndrome" and if you look at me twice I'm going to beat you to a pulp. He's a bit of a Josh Kronfeld lookalike and we all hope he plays that way. Last week's routine was broken by the presence in the hotel of about 1,000 students at a graduation ball.

I'm a pretty heavy sleeper so for me to be woken up about 4 a.m. to a racket outside the door meant it was pretty loud. I decided to stay put but a few of the other players were hacked off and roused the porter who calmed things down for a while before the decibel levels rose again.

The disappointment of last summer has not gone away and today offers us a chance to restore a little pride.

The South Africans will be confident, a state of mind that sits easily with them, as they're a confident people.

They have walked the walk; we've managed only to talk the talk.

Still, with a bit of luck come Saturday night, we might get one or two more Irish players into the South African squad.