Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll has opened up on the darkest moment of his rugby career, when he was dropped by Warren Gatland for the third Test of the British & Irish Lions' last tour of Australia in 2013. After captain Sam Warburton was injured in the second Test that summer, O'Driscoll was expected to skipper the side in their final clash with the Wallabies, with the iconic centre bringing a wealth of experience to the squad having also been part of the 2001, 2005 and 2009 tours. It looked certain that he would be handed the captaincy in Sydney as he was put up by the Lions management to do a press conference in the week leading up to the clash which would decide the series, which at that point was tied 1-1. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. However, in a move that stunned the rugby world and provoked fury back home, O'Driscoll was not only overlooked as captain, but left out of the matchday squad altogether, as he was dropped for the first time in his glittering career. With Wales star Jonathan Davies picked ahead of him, the Irishman was left reeling by the omission, which he admits left him "crying on the inside" and took him two years to get over. Having returned to Sydney 12 years on to watch Andy Farrell's side see out the current series, O'Driscoll has reflected on the crushing moment he found out he had been dropped, which came through a tap on the shoulder from Lions assistant coach Rob Howley. "I trained Monday, trained Tuesday and when the squad was picked on Wednesday, I thought I might be captain, because Paul O’Connell and Sam Warburton were injured," he told The Telegraph. "I was making a cup of coffee when I got a tap on the shoulder, and I knew immediately it was not the kind of tap on the shoulder that a captain gets…" Recalling the short meeting with Howley and Gatland that followed, O'Driscoll said: “It was a quick conversation. The only thing I said to them was that they should not have put me up for media if they were going to drop me, but they hadn’t had any of their coaches’ meetings by then. “At the time I didn’t even ask if I was on the bench or not, so when the squad was read out later it dawned on me that I wasn’t going to be involved at all. But I got that. I was not a bench player, Manu Tuilagi had played a bit of wing too, and I had never really played there." While he admitted that he did not have a cohesive partnership with Davies on the field, O'Driscoll maintains to this day that he had a greater intellect and understanding of the game than ever during the 2013 tour. Despite the crushing blow, the Ireland star was proud of his reaction as he rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into training. "On the same day that I heard the news, I went to a community event, coaching some kids," he said. "They didn’t know if I had been picked or not, so I had to make sure I was high on energy and gave them a good day, even though I went back to my room and was crying on the inside. "I also did a bit of video work with Foxy and Jamie. I tried not to throw my toys out of the cot.” However, there was more disappointment to follow for O'Driscoll who was left "wounded" when he turned up to breakfast on the Friday morning before the game to find a message on a whiteboard which said that the 23 non-players in the squad would not be needed at training that day. "I just wanted to be a good pro and be ready to play if I was needed," he said as he admitted he had not drunk alcohol the previous night in hope of a late call-up. “That [message] really wounded me. "They don’t even need me to hold the tackle bags. It knocked me for six because I wanted to still feel part of it, to feel like I was still adding value in some shape or form. That Friday was a long day.” After having the "unusual feeling" of watching from the stands, O'Driscoll confesses he felt like a "fraud" as the Lions celebrated a series win with a thumping 16-41 victory in Sydney. While he can admit now that Gatland's shock decision was "justified", however, the Irish legend admits he has not been back to Noosa, the Sunshine coast resort where Howley tapped him on the shoulder all those years ago. “It is a beautiful, a stunning place so I still have good memories of it," he said. "But less so of that team meeting room in our hotel. I don’t know if I would want to go back there, where I got the tap on the shoulder. “Like anything, it takes a bit of time,” he added. “I had considered finishing after the tour but I am glad that I didn’t. I went for one more year and had great memories to finish with, we won the URC with Leinster and the Six Nations title in the final game in France."