Ireland have not won Down Under for 31 years but after England’s 21-20 win - their first victory in Australia for seven years - O’Driscoll believes they must seize their own chance.

Declan Kidney’s side have yet to win on their summer tour with a 66-28 defeat to the All BLacks and a 31-28 loss against the New Zealand Maori.

But O’Driscoll said: “We’ve not won here since 1979 and that’s a long time not to pick up a result and that shows how difficult this place is.

“It is always an extremely tough Test match out here in Australia but we are capable of winning the game if we play to our strengths.

“This next opportunity is the best one to take and we want to try and reverse the series of defeats.

“It’s going to take a big effort but it’s certainly within our grasp.”