Brian O'Driscoll has expressed his delight at the Lions win over the Australia, the first series for the Irish player in four tours.

The player, who was controversially dropped for the third test to make way for the returning Wales centre Jamie Roberts, said: "I'm delighted, it's been a rollercoaster week for me but it's all about being a part of it for me," he said.

“I will always have it on my CV and the negatives will be forgotten. Huge credit goes to the players, the management and staff.”

For Lions coach Warren Gatland, it was vindication of the unpopular decision he made to omit O’Driscoll.

The New Zealander said: “It’s pretty immense. The last four days have been hard, I had to take a tough call to leave Brian out,” he admitted.

“It’s been a hard few days and this is a massive performance. You always doubt decisions, but you make those hard calls. We knew there would be a fall-out.

“I took the flak and have taken it. It’s not about that, I don’t want to gloat. It was a tough call but it’s about the boys, a winning series.”