Brian O'Driscoll's message to his players before tomorrow's first test between the British and Irish Lions and New Zealand will be short if not necessarily sweet.

O'Driscoll has spent months thinking about what he will say to his players before they venture into Jade Stadium to face the mighty All Blacks only to reach the conclusion that he could be better off keeping his mouth shut.

"You certainly prepare for those moments, to make sure you're not talking gibberish," he told reporters.

"Everyone is going to be so pumped up anyway. Often not saying something is better than talking for the sake of it."

O'Driscoll, the first Irishman to captain the Lions since Ciaran Fitzgerald in 1983, began to show signs of his leadership skills on the last Lions tour to Australia four years ago. He scored a stunning solo try in the opening test in Brisbane and was the outstanding player of a tour that ultimately ended in defeat.

"I think I'm a better player now than four years ago," he said. "I've changed physically. I've definitely become more of a leader than a follower and my awareness of others around me has changed."