Brian O'Driscoll will win his 100th cap at Croke Park today. Eddie Butler feels that the reputation of the Ireland and Lions captain has been restored after his starring role in their grand slam victory last season.

Below is an extract from Butler's blog. You can have your say by clicking here.

For an even ton, there is something odd about Brian O'Driscoll's 100. It's an Irish century of caps: half a dozen with the Lions, 93 for his country, plus one more today to make the sums neat.

It all adds up, after all, to a nice, round figure, a bit like the player in question. Or, at least, as he was this time last year, slightly overhanging at waist level, a bit swollen of jowl. Whenever he played back then, he spent as much time writhing on the ground as he did on his feet.

What he was going to leave behind at that point was veering towards the portrait of a bad loser, the snarling hair-puller who had gone toe-to-toe with Gavin Henson in a grand slam showdown in Cardiff in 2005 and come off an undignified second best. Reminders of the centre he had once been, swerving, swaying, gliding on the outside were growing ever more infrequent. The legacy was going to be stained.

O'Driscoll was king of Ireland's "golden generation", a phrase that by November 2008, and certainly by the end of the trouncing at the hands of the All Blacks, came out in Ireland with more than a fleck of spittle. If there was anything Irish to cheer it had never been delivered by any Dubliner, but only by Munster in the Heineken Cup.

Any reverence for members of the flecked golden generation was reserved for John Hayes, Anthony Foley and David Wallace. The Leinster mob were show ponies and O'Driscoll was the worst of the prancing lot.

It was almost made worse by the fact that so many people could remember the good times. It was sad to see him now – as in last November – because who could forget his first Six Nations in 2000, the hat-trick of tries he scored in Paris as he carried Ireland to their first win against France for 28 years?

This was an introduction to a youngster who could pluck the ball off his toes without breaking stride, who could ride twin tackles that threatened to cut him off at the knee without a flicker of lost balance. There was pace too, acceleration backed up with sustained speed over a distance. His try against the Wallabies for the Lions in their first-Test victory in Brisbane in 2001 raised the curtain on a gripping series.

Where had it all gone wrong? Injuries had eventually eaten into the speed. Lay-offs had laid on a few pounds. Perhaps the worst time was 2005, not just for the dent to his reputation after the game in Cardiff, but for what happened to him later that summer as captain of the ill-fated Lions in New Zealand.

The first Test in Christchurch was barely under way when O'Driscoll was upended at a ruck by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu and dumped on his head. A dislocated shoulder was almost a miraculous escape.

The All Blacks claimed it was, according to the interpretation of the laws of the time, a fair clear-out. But since then, the spear-tackle has become one of the taboo crimes of rugby. It was just a shame that O'Driscoll was the sacrifice required to make the point.

He was seemingly never the same again. To protect vulnerable joints he followed the example of Lawrence Dallaglio and buried the bones as deep as he could beneath muscle bulk. Neither would ever be sleek again.

And so there he was, this time last year, overweight and under-performing. This was going to be the end of the road.

Then something utterly extraordinary happened, one of the great sporting reinventions of the age. Maybe it was Leinster's catalogue of failure that drove him, perhaps it was Ireland's inability to go the whole hog in the Six Nations. Perhaps he didn't like the sneers.

The power of Christ compels you Good afternoon all and let us hope that Father Merrin and Father Damian Karras have whipped out the holy water and given Croke Park a good exorcising after last night's horribly depressing events. But, I ask, what need have we for the expunging of spirits from Jones's Road? At this game of egg-chasing we call rugby union we Irish are masters of our own destiny. Sure, isn't it the most popular game in the country now, even though no one can still afford those sheepskin coats that were once obligatory if you were heading to Lansdowne for a Test.

Ireland are Six Nations champions, Leinster are European champions and these Australians are the runts of the current Tri Nations litter and sure, isn't Brian O'Driscoll the greatest thing since Simon Geoghegan – my childhood hero as far as the Irish rugby team goes. Here is the blonde winger doling out the pain to Rob Andrew.

To today and what I hope for, more than an Irish victory, is a game of rugby that does not possess all the excitement of a Xanax-riddled bowl of Complan. Simon Barnes of the Sunday Times reckons Ireland will need to triumph at the breakdown if they are "to scalp the world's third best team". That may be so, but how big a scalp can that be if you, yourselves, are the world's No4 team? Odd one that, I thought.

Let's hope glitches are restricted to my computron I'm having some problems here, but have been sorted by my faithful team of monkeys in Red Dwarf T-Shirts. I'm determined to show you that Simon Geoghegan clip, so I'll try again.

Keith Wood is a quality pundit He always has something interesting to say, today he was explaining the precocious and teeny scrum-half Will Genia's leadership qualities stem from being selected at a young age. Australia do have a happy knack of bringing through plenty of young talent. The problem today is, though, that this new look Australia team are coming up against an Irish side who could only be closer via a civil ceremony.

Here come the teams The Croke Park pitch looks good. Someone must have swept up Ireland's World Cup hopes and dreams nice and early. I see Ireland's jerseys are now made by the manufacturer who makes Usain Bolt's shoes. Please insert your own lightning joke here, I'm too busy being horrified by the collection of soup strainers on the Aussie players. When does Movember end? Sometime before December, I hope.

That's the three anthems out of the way Kick off is imminent, with Cian Healy at loose head prop preparing for his very first cap for Ireland.

We're off Ronan O'Gara gets us going with Ireland playing from right to left, attacking the Hill 16 end.

2 min: Australia turn the ball over after just two or three phases of Irish play but then aimlessly kick it away and it is back in the hands of O'Gara. Ireland have a lineout in their own half.

Try! Ireland 0-5 Australia (Mitchell, 3)

O'Gara's pass to Brian O'Driscoll was not perfect but the Centurion should have done better than palm the ball into the path of Drew Mitchell, who has the simple task of running it in from no more than 15 metres. Giteau slots the conversion to give Australia a seven-point lead.

Penalty! Ireland 3-7 Australia (O'Gara 6) Rob Kearney claims an up and under and the Wallabies go offside at the ruck. O'Gara splits the posts from 25 metres to get the hosts off the mark.

9 min: Giteau has a drop goal attempt blocked by debutant Healy and Croke Park roars as the Irish counter. Another O'Driscoll knock-on ends that little drive.

11 min: We're getting some intriguing scrums so far and, referee allowing, this could be a crucial area of the game.

12 min: A lightning quick move involving O'Connell, Quinlan and Flannery ends with a penalty to Australia in their own half but that handling quality from Ireland's forwards is encouraging. Australians are very nervous of the lineout and are shortening them wherever possible.

15 min: O'Driscoll and O'Connell brilliantly stop a rumbling Aussie attack so we come back for an Australian penalty from a kickable distance, close to the left touchline 30 metres out.

16 min: Giteau drags that across the face of the posts and wide, so the score remains 3-7 to the Wallabies.

17 min: Another dodgy lineout from Stephen Moore ends in the hands of Tomas O'Leary who hands off to O'Gara, who let's the ball slip. The Irish backs are seeing more of the ball, which has to be good.

19 min: A very tidy piece of Irish interplay involving most all of the backs ends with a penalty to Australia. The Irish are almost too quick for their own team-mates and need to get up in support a little quicker.

20 min: A kick and chase from Luke Fitzgerald is the result of a sweeping right to left move, but the Australians do well to snuff out the danger right in the corner. Already this game is easier on the eye than any of the other Autumn internationals I have seen.

Penalty! Ireland 6-7 Australia (O'Gara 22) David Wallace drives under the posts and the Aussies concede a penalty, the resulting kick is meat and drink to O'Gara. Very questionable refereeing decision however from Jonathan Kaplan.

24 min: The Australian line-out is abysmal, but their counter-rucking skills are typically Antipodean and they have earned another very kickable penalty.

Penalty! Ireland 6-10 Australia (Giteau, 25) Matt Giteau does what Matt Giteau does to cancel out Ireland's penalty, bringing the gap back up to four.

27 min: We had the game in microcosm there. Rocky Elsom returns the kick-off with interest. Ireland then dominate a lineout but get put under huge pressure by the Australian ruck.

28 min: Giteau jinks and jives his way to within a couple of metres of the the Irish line but the Aussies concede a silly penalty to relieve that pressure.

30 min: Rob Kearney just got dropped by Wyclef Palu, who gets penalised for a dangerous tackle and is sin binned. That is an incredibly harsh decision – Kearney ran straight into the Australian No8.

31 min: Now Ireland have a one-man advantage for the remainer of the first half – this is a great opportunity.

32 min: O'Gara takes a penalty quickly, looking for Tommy Bowe in the corner. It almost comes off, but that is the kind of endeavour Ireland should be showing to get back into this game.

34 min: Rob Kearney is close to getting on the end of a monstrous garryowen but the move descends into a spate of knock-ons and Australia have yet another scrum.

35 min: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz We're having one of those soporific spates of kicking that does nothing for the game of union and would almost make one consider making the switch to league... Ha ha ha ha ha. I almost had myself going there. League! Ha ha ha ha!

37 min: Wallace and Fitzgerald combine well on the left and Australia are penalised for playing off their feet. O'Gara takes a dink to touch and Ireland have the lineout.

38 min: Slow, grinding phases from Ireland brought to a stop by the referee, who gives Ireland a scrum in a very good attacking position.

39 min: That was poor. O'Leary and Heaslip worked the scrum well, but the scrum half runs into a wall of yellow with no tangible support.

40 min: Palu is back, with the score unchanged, and the Aussies have an attacking lineout.

Half-time Kaplan gives us the whistle to end the half – which ended with a mess of knock-ons and unforced errors. Quite apt considering the sloppiness of the game thus far. Back in 10 rugby fans. If there are any of you out there. Ireland 6 Australia 10.

Ding ding Keith Wood and Jeremy Guscott could come to blows over Palu's sin-binning. I think I speak for Irish men everywhere when I say, 'We would all love to see that'.

Giteau gets us under way again No changes to either team, so let's see if these 30 can give us more flowing rugby this half.

42 min: Kate S assures me there are people out there. That is nice. I'm going to put my sock puppet army back in their box now. Thanks Kate.

Ireland retain possession after Kearney makes a little break. A little more protection of the tackled player in the first half and Ireland may have ran in a couple of tries.

44 min: Heaslip penalised very quickly for not releasing in the tackle. I don't think Kaplan gave him enough time to do so. This is a very kickable, if entirely undeserved penalty.

Giteau misses That is a shocking kick from one of the world's leading fly halves. Some, ie me, might say that was natural justice.

47 min: Rob Kearney put his boot through the ball there and Australia have a 22-yard drop out that Giteau sends long. Game a little listless just now.

49 min: Australia retaining possession with worrying ease before Healy, who is enjoying a great debut, knocks Ashley-Cooper into touch. The prop is a bit shook, hopefully he will be okay.

51 min: My colleague and BBC commentator, Eddie Butler, is getting peeved with Kaplan's incessant whistling at the scrum. As Eddie asks, "How can it be an offence to push a scrum and make it unsteady? That is the object of the scrum set-piece." I paraphrase, so shouldn't put Eddie in quotation marks. He is a big, scary man. Gentle though. Like a tame grizzly bear.

53 min: Gratuitous close up of 93-cap veteran John Hayes's ears there. Not teatime viewing, I would say.

54 min: Australia just trashed an Irish scrum and almost broke through before Ireland regained possession. Scary times for the 80,000 plus inside Croker.

54 min: Luke Fitzgerald will play no further part in this game and he is helped off the field as Munster's Keith Earls comes in on the wing.

Penalty! Ireland 6-13 Australia (Giteau 55) Australia go a converted try ahead as Giteau slots his third kick from five attempts.

56 min: Healy sparks a period of sustained Irish pressure and O'Connell, O'Driscoll and Ferris all crash against the Aussie defence.

Try (Maybe)! Ireland 11-13 Australia (Bowe, 57) The video ref will decide if Bowe's try is good. It should be good.

It is good! and converted Ireland 13-13 Australia Just desserts for a wonderful drive that was started by Healy before the debutant had a hand in getting it to Bowe and the Osprey did what the Osprey does best, finishing a move. O'Gara slots the conversion. Now we have a game on our hands.

60 min: Now we are seeing some flowing rugby from the home side with Wallace, Earls and O'Gara combining with some aplomb down the left wing.

Try! Ireland 13-18 Australia (Elsom, 62) The Australian captain ploughs through Kearney at the line to touch down in the corner to cap a period of sustained Australian possession. Begrudgingly I will admit that was deserved, begrudgingly.

Giteau converts to put Australia 20-13 ahead Ireland must raise their game if they are to get their Autumn series off to a winning start.

65 min: Polota-Nau is in at hooker for Australia while David Wallace returns after a blood injury is stemmed. Can't say I noticed him go in the first place.

68 min: Ireland do well to work the ball out of defence by hand and the Australians have gone offside, giving Ireland a chance to gain territory and relieve the pressure.

69 min: Flannery carries at the back of a good rolling maul as Ireland probe the Aussie five-metre line.

70 min: Tommy Bowe could and should have finished after Flannery and Wallace spread it to the right but a bout of juggling is all Bowe can manage and a promising attack results in nothing more than an Aussie scrum.

71 min: Here, in honour of the Australian scrum, is the Commodores with Brick House.

73 min: Better from the Irish as they recycle and edge closer to the Wallabies line and have earned a put in to a scrum. Whatever good that will do.

74 min: Heaslip moves the ball from the base of the ruck and for the umpteenth time O'Driscoll receives man and ball simultaneously. The Irish captain has had more hits than this minute-by-minute. Put it that way.

76 min: Ireland go right, they go left, and eventually earn a penalty for offside. They have to take the scrum or the lineout. The three points are no good at this stage. Leamy replaces Ferris. O'Gara kicks to the corner.

77 min: "HEAVE!" says Croker as O'Connell claims the lineout and Ireland ask questions. Ireland have another penalty for a knock-on.

Try (maybe)! Ireland 18-20 (maybe) Australia (Bowe (maybe) 78) Wallace making the hard yards before Bowe breaks the line. He could well be held up by some great Aussie defending.

Inconclusive 5-metre scrum for Ireland. I think that was the right call.

Ireland 13-20 Australia Is still the score, by the way... I'm afraid.

Try! Ireland 18-20 Australia (BOD 80) No doubt about that one.

O'Gara ties the game 20-20 with the conversion That was a beautiful try, for its simplicity alone. Heaslip feeds O'Leary at the base of the scrum and the quick pass to O'Driscoll is meat and drink to, wait for it, the greatest Irish rugby player of all time. He prances and dance through the token defence.

That's full-time, 20 points apiece The Irish players smile sheepishly, knowing that a draw is neither the result they wanted nor the result one would have expected with five minutes to play. I'm off to attend to a mountain of work. Thank you for hanging in there Kate...and anyone else who may have been there. Bye bye.