The Irish midfield ace had his reign as Lions skipper to New Zealand in 2005 ended less than 60 seconds into the first Test following the infamous spear tackle by All Blacks duo Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu.

Gareth Thomas took over the captaincy and Clive Woodward's men never really recovered from losing O'Driscoll and the series was lost 3-0.

But the Leinster centre, who has led his country to 28 wins in a record 38 appearances as skipper, admits he would love to get his old job back.

That's why this summer's Irish tour to New Zealand and Australia, which begins with the game against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday, is even more important than usual, as O'Driscoll aims to show Lions head coach Ian McGeechan he is the right man for the job next year.

O'Driscoll, 29, said: ?I know that 2009 is a long, long way away but, if you were asking me right now, of course, straight up, I would love to be captain of the Lions again.

?There's a huge amount of rugby to be played but, first and foremost, I want to get as fit as possible next season and be playing well.

?Then I can start thinking about Lions trips and the captaincy, but not before any of that.? Amond O'Driscoll's main contenders for the top role are fellow Irishman Paul O'Connell and Wales' 2008 Grand Slam winning-captain Ryan Jones.

O'Connell guided Munster to their second Heineken Cup title in three years against Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium last month, while Jones also steered the Ospreys to an impressive EDF Energy Cup final victory over Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.

O'Driscoll, who is hoping to make it a third Lions tour in a row next summer, knows all about the credentials of Irish team mate O'Connell and is also a big fan of Jones, who made the No8 spot his own on the 2005 Lions tour.

O'Driscoll said: ?I'm sure if the Lions team was being picked this season, Ryan would not be too far away from the captaincy.

?He's been a great leader and the captaincy is not always about what you say, it's about what you do. He's been a real talisman for both the Ospreys and for Wales this season.

?He won the Anglo-Welsh Cup and won the Grand Slam so the guy must be doing something right. I haven't seen him in a dressing room, but he obviously seems to have the respect of the players and that's half the battle.

?The Lions trip is another 12 months away but if he produces another year like that he will be there and thereabouts.?

Jones' stock has risen having transformed Wales from World Cup zeroes into Six Nations heroes in just four months. He leads the reigning Six Nations champions into battle against the Springboks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.