But the 32-year-old says his ties to Leinster, who play Toulouse in their third consecutive Heineken Cup semi-final this weekend, were too strong to break.

“I was tempted by one season of Super 15,” O’Driscoll told the Guardian.

“That would've been interesting and I had spoken to one person about it in Australia. I definitely thought that would be an opportunity but different variables in life shape your decision-making.

“I definitely thought that would be an opportunity but different variables in life shape your decision-making. I have a wife (the actor Amy Huberman) with her own profession that I have to consider.

“On top of that we've built something special at Leinster and that was a big component in my re-signing. In the end it was a bit of a no-brainer.”

It was not the only offer O’Driscoll turned down after revealing he knocked back an offer to Friday’s Royal Wedding on Friday to focus on his leadership duties at club level.

He said: “I have a captain's run on Friday and as big an honour as it was to be invited, I can't ask for team runs to be at half-six in the evening so I can go to the wedding.

“The team ethos comes first, even after 12 years.

“But Amy's going as we felt there was an element of our representing Ireland as well. It's going to be an incredible thing, with two billion watching, but I'll be at home, preparing for Toulouse."