The 31-year-old, who was stretchered off with 15 minutes to play after being accidently struck on the head by team-mate Paul O’Connell, went down with the bug the day before the game.

And O’Driscoll paid tribute to the rest of the squad for taking the pressure off his shoulders for the clash with England.

“I was happy enough just making the game,” said O’Driscoll. “I was thankful to see the rain because it slowed the game down a bit.

“The illness was definitely a distraction and I was grateful to Paul O’Connell and Jamie Heaslip, amongst others, who did most of the talking prior to the match.

“I managed to camouflage the fact that I wasn’t feeling great reasonably well.”