Lions 2013: Brian O'Driscoll reflects on the Lions' victory in the first test Of course, you need to savour the moment. It was bizarre, though. I went back to the hotel on Saturday night after only my second test match victory for the Lions. And how did I celebrate? A wild party with a good few drinks? Not quite. I spent a lot of time walking down the hotel corridor trying to get my four‑month‑old daughter, Sadie, off to sleep. How times change, eh? I remember 12 years ago celebrating in the City Rowers here in Brisbane, having a few drinks, a great night. Mind you, I was as content doing what I did on Saturday night as whooping it up in 2001. I struggle after games these days. That was not the most physically demanding test but emotionally it was right up there. There is a big emotional fall-off from these games. I don't know if it is an age thing with me. I felt drained, really pooped. I was content we had won but not jumping through hoops. It was a beer or two in the team room, looking after herself, then off to bed, trying to get a decent night's sleep, waking up in one piece. Boring old man, eh? Guys do their own thing on the Sunday. I was out for a family gathering of 12 to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of my parents, Frank and Ger (aldine). That is a great innings. It was brilliant before the game. We had a family room here at the hotel. On the way down to the bus before the match we had to walk through the family room. That was really cool. Family and friends cheering you out. The nearest and dearest are the real die‑hards. It was a special moment. The sharp-end of the build-up began with Geech [Sir Ian McGeechan] handing out the jerseys on Friday. You would never tire of hearing Geech speak about the Lions. It meant a lot to me as I'm sure it meant a lot to the first-timers. Geech is right up there with the likes of Willie John or Gareth as great Lions. It reinforces the importance of the jersey. Geech hit the mark. An eight o'clock kick-off makes it a long day. You try to sleep as late as you can. For me, now, at this stage, it is about getting some stretching done, rolling out on the foam roller, putting down a hockey ball and rolling it against certain parts of my torso. Then it is back to bed again for a sleep if you can. I'm in the room, chatting to Foxy [Jonathan Davies], listening to music. We had a bit of walk‑through, got some food in and then it was back to the room. That is when the nerves kick in, when you get deep into your thoughts. I don't like playing the game in my head too early. So I was off out of the room, down to the team-room, looking for distractions. We weren't due to meet until close to half past six. You don't want to be with your thoughts too much. I was well aware of the growing support outside the hotel. I was flicking through Twitter as well, seeing Tim Horan urging the Aussies to wear gold. I have done this a few times but the hairs on the back of my neck still prickle when I see all the fans there. You would never, ever bore of that. It is spectacular. I had a few issues with the refereeing of the breakdown. I was penalised twice early on and I knew then that any more penalties and there could be a danger of a yellow card. I had to back off. There would have had to be a really clear-cut situation for me to have had a go at. On the first penalty, I thought it was pretty harsh. I was told that I didn't have control of my body weight. I got the ball up in the air pretty quickly. You have to make a conscious effort to steal it. I got that in the air. The second one, well, I was clearly the first man to the ruck and on to the ball early. As the whistle went you could see that I had ripped it off him and was presenting on our side. That's why I queried it, asking the ref to look at the replay. I had to adapt my game. There is no point bleating too much. Even if you feel you are right, you're wrong. He is right. He is the boss. I had my two bites at it and he wasn't showing me any love. It was up to me to let it go for the rest of the match and modify my game. I didn't go in there again to try and pinch ball more to make a nuisance of myself. I had to change my approach. Israel Folau got many headlines. But we have got our own man to savour - George North. The power is one thing, and George has plenty of that. But then there are the feet. It is that perfect combination that is a defender's nightmare. You are bracing yourself for the big collision and at the last second those quick feet can do for you. His momentum stays forward so when he beat Berrick Barnes he was away. The confidence is a big factor too. The same with Cuthy [Alex Cuthbert]. As soon as they beat the first man, they were scoring. Foxy ran a good support line on George and I was inside him. But there was never a thought he was not going to score that try. Three big wing performances on the night, that's for sure. Folau will be a handful for the remainder of the series, a serious unit with fast feet, too. It is always nice when practised plays come off but it is about having options out there and choosing the right one. It is not set in stone what you do. For Cuthy's try we did have a look at who was defending 12 and had spotted that [flanker] Michael Hooper had moved out there. Trying to exploit that, the fact that injury had forced them to re-shuffle, is all part of it. You work hard in games to break an opposition down and taking advantage of injuries is part of it. There was a brief moment of concern on the Cuthbert try when they went to the video ref to see if I had been blocking. I had actually pulled up and could easily have gone another step but didn't. There was a check on a possible forward pass for Folau's second try. I understand why we have video technology but there is a danger of getting too pernickety. If they are not called in real time, that should be it. You gotta roll with it. That's what touch-judges are for. You have got to allow a bit of reality in the game, a margin for error. Melbourne 2001 (when we lost after being 13-6 ahead at half-time) will be there in my head somewhere this week. You draw on all sorts of experiences you have had. What you cannot do is allow yourself to look ahead, to dare to dream. There is no point. The only time you allow yourself to dream is when there is one minute to go on the clock and you are eight points ahead. We have come to win the series and that means winning two games. Let's try and do it this weekend.