"He obviously would have been in that situation on a huge number of occasions where he's had hard choices and had to back himself."

Warren Gatland has made an extraordinary claim that Alex Ferguson agreed with his 2013 dropping of Brian O'Driscoll.

The then Lions boss omitted the Irish second-centre for the third test against Australia on the Lions tour.

O'Driscoll had captained the first two tests but did not make the matchday 23 for the third.

Gatland chose the Wales pairing of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan David instead, claiming the decision was 'head not his heart' and had the coaching team's unanimous agreement.

"Sir Alex Ferguson said I was right to drop Brian O’Driscoll on the 2013 Lions Tour," claims Gatland.

"Yes. Growing up in New Zealand, I was kind of a Manchester United supporter.

"The only time you ever saw football in New Zealand on TV was basically the FA Cup final. I used to get up and watch the FA Cup at two or three o'clock in the morning.

"I remember around '75 or '76, I think Man United were in the Second Division and they played in the FA Cup.

"They weren't favourites, but they ended up winning it. I was supporting them because they were the underdogs. I was only eleven or twelve.

"I followed them, and obviously the record and success that Alex had is unbelievable."

Gatland's claim that Ferguson approved turns out to be a second-hand story, however.

The former Wales coach says it told to him by Roger Lewis who was Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union and Millennium Stadium 2006-15.

"Roger Lewis told me a story one day that he met him at the races, and there was a big controversy about me dropping Brian O'Driscoll from the Lions in 2013.

"Roger told me that Alex said, "Tell your coach he made the right decision."

"Not because he knew anything about the rugby specifics, but because he obviously would have been in that situation on a huge number of occasions where he's had hard choices and had to back himself.

"I thought that was quite a compliment."