Brian O'Driscoll would rather focus on leading Ireland to victory over Wales than dwell on the milestone he is about to reach.

O'Driscoll will win his 100th cap on Saturday, becoming the 13th player to join the ranks of rugby's centurions and Ireland's second after John Hayes pipped him to the achievement against England a fortnight ago.

The enduringly-brilliant 31-year-old, who has already sealed his position as an all-time great, has been showered with tributes this week.

His consistency in over a decade of Test rugby has been remarkable, as are the durability and bravery that have matched his attacking genius.

But O'Driscoll, who will be captaining Ireland for the 63rd time tomorrow, refuses to be immersed in the latest landmark of a career littered with highlights.

"I'm just looking forward to another game," he said.

"The time to think about these sort of things is when you're sitting on the coach during retirement.

"I'm just treating it as another week and enjoying it as any other match.

"It's nice getting lots of text messages coming in from past players and past legends and friends of the game.

"That's lovely and makes it a bit different to other Test matches but I don't see any reason to get caught up in the hype of it all.

"Playing 101 Test matches is more impressive than 100, so John Hayes should be up there."

O'Driscoll has accumulated 105 caps if his six for the Lions are included, is the world's top try-scoring centre with 38 and is second only to John Smit of South Africa by five matches in length of service as a captain.

"I didn't set the target in 1999 that I wanted to play 100 Test matches," he said.

"I just went through each Test match and enjoyed it. They started totting up.

"I suppose a few years ago it would be nice to reach 100. I'm not looking at 120 caps either - I'm just taking it game by game."

O'Driscoll has traditionally celebrated special occasions with a scripted matchwinning performance.

Toppling Wales would be a fitting way for the Leinster centre to mark his latest highlight and the bookmakers believe Ireland will do just that after installing them as odds-on favourites.

They remain in the title hunt, though they need France to slip up against Italy or England and concede a big score in the process to retain their status as Europe's top team.

The Triple Crown appears far more likely with Wales and Scotland to come in Dublin and completing the clean sweep of the home unions would see history repeat itself.

The last time Ireland followed up a Grand Slam-winning season in 1949, they lost to France but completed the Triple Crown.

Wales have been the championship's great entertainers this year, scoring seven tries, but have also conceded seven in losing two of their three matches.

"There's still a lot of work to do to pick up the Triple Crown but we strive for silverware every year and there's still something attainable. That's a common goal of the squad," said O'Driscoll.

"It's been a mixed bag for Wales. There have been some scintillating parts to their game, but they have conceded more points than they would have wanted.

"They'll feel as though they have a big performance in them. I'm sure they're targeting this match."

It will be the penultimate game at Croke Park before Ireland relocate to Lansdowne Road in the autumn and head coach Declan Kidney is urging home fans to start the build-up tomorrow as early as possible.

"It's up to us to give the supporters something to come behind," he said.

"The GAA have been extraordinarily generous to us and it would be nice to finish on a high.

"The 5pm kick-offs always seem to suit us that little bit better as everyone seems to be warmed up that little bit better!

"Hopefully people will have an early start tomorrow morning!"