British & Irish Lions winger Tommy Bowe admitted he found it hard not to be part of compatriot Brian O’Driscoll’s international swansong this year.
Bowe took part in his second Lions tour last summer while O’Driscoll appeared on his fourth and both chalked up a maiden win with the tourists seeing off Australia 2-1.
Since then however, O’Driscoll went on the take his international caps tally to a world record 141 and while Bowe featured for Ireland last autumn, injury has ruled him out this year.
And Bowe conceded he’d have loved to have been alongside O’Driscoll as the curtain came down on a glittering career.
“The support that he got around the world was amazing and I think the team fed into that,” Bowe told the Irish Independent.
“But it’s tough watching Ireland win from the sofa. It was an amazing performance, real edge of the seat stuff.”
