During last year's Lions tour the Irish nation collectively went up in arms when Brian O'Driscoll was dropped by Warren Gatland but it turns out the sympathy for BOD amongst his Irish teammates was short lived, going by what Gatland has revealed in the build-up to this year's Six Nations.
The Welsh head coach says Donnacha Ryan convinced him to send O'Driscoll a Christmas card after the Irish legend said Gatland was no longer on his list of Christmas greetings:
'Donncha Ryan rang me up and asked me to send Brian a card as a joke from the Irish boys,” said Gatland. “So I did, wishing his family well for Christmas and asking if he had any influence that the Irish fans didn’t boo me in the Aviva Stadium!
“I made a bit of a joke about it, so hopefully it is water under the bridge. I made – or we made as coaches – what we felt was the right decision. People tried to insinuate it was an anti-Irish thing but I am indebted to the opportunities that Ireland gave me in my career.'
Gatland went on to say that the whole Brian O'Driscoll saga will add a bit of spice to this year's Ireland v Wales match but that he is 'really looking forward to going back.' He has also spoke recently about the great advantage France will have in this year's competition due to the risk of a Lions hangover of sorts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rSOhF5o2kY
hat-tip: ESPN
