The former Irish International revealed the exact details leading up to the conversation he had with Gatland and Howley, prior to being dropped from the Lions final test in June 2013.

Speaking on Off the Ball road show with Ger Gilroy and Lions head coach Warren Gatland.  

The former Irish captain also expressed his anguish after being completely omitted from the squad after starting the first two test matches against Australia.

“On Wednesday I got a tap at the coffee machine, ten minutes before the meeting. I saw Gats and Rob Howley, and I thought: ‘this isn’t good, you don’t need two people for good news,' and I was asked to go into the team meeting room. They delivered it pretty quickly. I think you black out a bit when you hear the bad news.”

O’Driscoll recalls that it was extra painful when he heard Manu Tuilagi had been added to the bench. The Former Leinster player also says he presumed he that he would be omitted from the squad with the addition of Tuilagi to the match day panel, as he realised Tuilagi would be a better option from the bench.

“I didn’t actually know that Manu was on the bench but I’m not a good bench player anyway. Manu can play on the wing. It wasn’t a jolt when I heard his name but I thought: ‘that’s extra painful. Someone else has been brought in, to sit on the bench,'" he added.