O’Connell admits he was baffled by Gatland’s decision to axe O’Driscoll

Paul O’Connell has become the latest Irish star to admit he felt dropping Brian O’Driscoll for the final Lions Test was the wrong decision.

Munster lock O’Connell, who missed the final two Tests with a broken arm, said he was “shocked and disappointed” that O’Driscoll was dropped for the first time in his international career for the decisive clash with Australia in Sydney.

The decision prompted a massive backlash in Ireland in particular, with Keith Wood and Willie John McBride lamenting the decision to deny the 34-year-old a Lions swansong.