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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Andy Bull

Spear and loathing: 20 years since tackle on Brian O’Driscoll that changed rugby

Brian O'Driscoll touches his injured shoulder and is carried from the pitch
Brian O'Driscoll taken off on a stretcher after the spear tackle in the first Test against the All Blacks in 2005. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

Brian O’Driscoll is sick of talking about it. Tana Umaga says anyone still asking needs to put it behind them. But here we are, 20 years to the day since the tackle that ties them together – and people do still want to talk about it.

That moment – in the first minute of the first Test of the Lions series against New Zealand – still pops up on TikTok and YouTube feeds, still sparks arguments on Reddit threads, still leads hour-long podcasts when players reminisce about how they saw it. And it still inspires articles like this one, long after the men involved have made up and moved on.

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