Changing room chat: Brian O'Driscoll chooses rugby over royalty

Published on Tuesday 26 April 2011 16:41

IRELAND rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll will not be at the royal wedding, despite initially accepting an invitation for him and his actress wife.

He was later forced to decline in order to prepare with his Leinster team-mates for a Heineken Cup semi-final clash against Toulouse. His wife, Amy Huberman, will attend the ceremony in London alone.

The couple originally accepted the invitation, But O'Driscoll then said his presence at the wedding depended on his team's progress in the Heineken Cup. Leinster play French giants Toulouse in Dublin on Saturday. "Rugby takes precedence over everything," he previously said.

It is understood Prince William became friendly with O'Driscoll when he captained the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005.

A spokeswoman for O'Driscoll said that while he could not be at the wedding, the couple had to confirm that his new wife could go alone. "He can't go because he has got the match but both names were on the invite, so Amy is going to go by herself," she said. "She will come back to Ireland on Saturday morning to go to the match in the Aviva Stadium."