‘I don't lose sleep about it': Tana Umaga on two decades of O'Driscoll controversy
'I've been back to Ireland a couple of times, quite a few times, and I've had no issues,' Umaga said. 'It's probably a pretty small number [who are still upset] because, as I said, no one mentions it to me when I'm there. I suppose with the advent of social media, that's what keeps it alive. And the meaning as well.
'All of us have moved forward on it. It's part of the rugby fabric now. The British and Irish Lions are such a formidable team. This is etched in the memory and the fabric of that team. I'm connected to that.
'People are passionate about their team, about right and wrong and what they feel should have happened. But yeah, 20 years later, we've dealt with it many moons ago.
'No doubt we'll catch up when we're both together in Melbourne. We'll just have another laugh about it, as we always do.'
Umaga will see O'Driscoll when the Lions circus rolls into Victoria next month, having signed on to coach against them next month as an assistant for the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on July 22.
It's not the first time – Umaga coached the Auckland Blues against the Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand – but the opportunity to be an assistant to head coach Toutai Kefu was worth another wearying round of interviews on that 2005 moment.
Umaga, who now coaches Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific, will be on a staff also containing Glen Ella, Sekope Kepu and Simon Raiwalui.
'When I got the request, I didn't have to think about it too long – I thought it was a huge honour,' Umaga said.
'You see who else is involved in that coaching group. You know, there's a lot of people that I respect. Glen Ella – I was a fan of his when I was growing up, so I'm looking forward to learning something off him and trying to bring back some of the 80s rugby that he played with his brothers, and those Wallaby days.'
The First Nations and Pasifika XV was created to fill the empty slot left when the Rebels shut down last year, and will feature not only Australian players with First Nations and Pacific Island heritage, but likely a handful from the Moana and Fijian Drua sides as well.
Umaga said it was a rare opportunity for some players to face the Lions.
'Not everyone gets it. It [a Lions tour] is held in such a high esteem,' he said. 'For some, they may never usually get that opportunity, like not just the First Nations and Pacific Island players in Australia, but the possibility of Drua players as well as some Moana Pasifika players. That'll be huge for those individuals if they get that chance.'
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Kefu is set to reveal the team's jersey on Thursday in Melbourne, and potentially some players, too. Umaga joked that the coaching staff had picked a strong squad until Joe Schmidt beat them to the punch.
'We had an awesome team until the Wallaby squad was named. I think we were just wishful thinking for some of the players that we were hoping to get,' Umaga said. 'But there are still quality players around.'
Umaga is a big admirer of Schmidt, and believes the Wallabies' progress last year – and that of the country's Super Rugby sides this year – has Australian rugby trending strongly.
'He's such a great man. I think he's building something within that Wallabies group that I think is something that's as exciting to grow towards this tour, but also, invariably, in a couple of years' time for that World Cup,' Umaga said.
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