PAUL O’Connell has become the first member of the victorious British and Irish Lions squad to criticise boss Warren Gatland’s decision to axe Brian O’Driscoll.

Hopes that the crushing 41-16 win in the third and deciding Test would put an end to the chirping about dropping the legendary Irish centre appear to be forlorn.

Welshmen Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies were paired together in midfield in Sydney, much to the chagrin of O’Connell.

The Munsterman – who captained the Lions in South Africa in 2009 – told Irish radio station Today FM that the absence O’Driscoll took the shine off the Lions’ first series win since 1997.

“I was shocked and disappointed,” said lock O’Connell, who also watched on from the sidelines after breaking his right arm in the first Test.

“I thought Brian was playing well. If you look at the first two Tests there wasn’t a whole lot of quality ball given to the backline.

“Apart from George North, who had a ball kicked down his throat and created an unbelievable try, there weren’t any backs that stood out.

“So it’s hard to fathom the logic behind the decision, certainly from my point of view.”

He added: “After playing so long with him you end up being a bit of a fan. I wouldn’t say it took the gloss off it a little bit for me, but it probably did.

“It’s a shame he wasn’t out there. Even going on the bus with him; I was injured and there were other guys resigned to the fact that they weren’t on the team.

“It just felt wrong that he was on the bus with the non-playing squad, not in the 23.”

Former Ireland coach Gatland copped plenty of flak after opting to leave out O’Driscoll, who also toured with the Lions in 2001, 2005 and 2009.

“That’s the nature of the job,” said his assitant Rob Howley. “We believed in the team we selected. We probably didn’t realise the effect that would have throughout world rugby.

“But we stuck by particular decisions in terms of being technically and tactically better in that third Test and thankfully it turned out that way.

“Gats deserves all the credits because having worked with him, I’ve seen his stewardship, how savvy, how clever he is and selection is a big part of that.”