Umaga asked to make O'Driscoll call

All Black captain Tana Umaga asked for Brian O'Driscoll's phone number last Sunday morning - but did not get a response for 24 hours, during which time the Lions had lit the fuse of the spear tackle controversy.

All Blacks media manager Brian Finn asked the Lions for the injured captain's phone number for Umaga to use, but 24 hours later, there had been no reply - and, by that time, O'Driscoll and the Lions management had given a press conference at which they outlined, among other things, their disappointment at not hearing from Umaga.

"We thought 9am the next day was a reasonable time for Tana to get in touch, given that he had just played a test match," Finn said.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY