Brian O’Driscoll says it was “lovely” that he was able to make the decision when to retire from professional rugby, whilst acknowledging that his powers were on the decline.
O’Driscoll hung up his boots in the summer after a sparkling 15-year career for Leinster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.
Speaking to Sport Magazine, the 35-year-old said it was great to be able to choose when to go rather than be pushed out.
“I was on the wane – I really was – and you could undo a little bit of the good work that’s gone on,” he said.
“It was disappointing getting dropped from the Lions (he was replaced by Jonathan Davies for the final Test of the 2013 series against Australia). I didn’t want to get dropped from Ireland as well.
“Being able to call it (retirement) on my own terms was lovely.”
O’Driscoll also said he was delighted to end his international career with another Six Nations win.
In his final cap for his country, Ireland’s most-capped player was part of the side that recorded a 22-20 win against France in Paris to clinch this year’s championship.
It added to his 2009 triumph, when he captained Ireland to their first Grand Slam title since 1948 and the days of the great Jack Kyle.
“[I’m pleased with how it ended] particularly from an Ireland perspective. The Six Nations was the most important thing this year, and it’s very hard to feel you were cut short having had a great run of 15 years," he said.
“I was really thankful I didn’t have any injury to deal with at the end of it, too. Having to have an operation, or breaking something, would have been hard to cope with.”
