Warren Gatland would be interested in leading the British and Irish Lions for the second time when they tour his native New Zealand in 2017.
The 50-year-old transferred the success he has enjoyed with Wales to the Lions this summer, guiding the tourists to their first series win in 16 years as they crushed Australia in the final Test to claim a 2-1 overall triumph.
Such was the effect on him of the Lions tour, Gatland would happily take the reins again.
He told BBC Radio Five: “It was an incredible experience. To be involved, I was humbled and privileged.
“For me to go to New Zealand would be a great opportunity in 2017, but there is a huge amount of water to pass under the bridge before that.
“You never know, and if I was asked to do it again and particularly in my own country, it would be something I would relish.”
Recalling the series, Gatland described it as an “amazing experience” although he admitted he was shocked by the reaction to O’Driscoll’s axing.
“I wasn’t (prepared),” he said.
“I think that people out in Australia weren’t aware of the almost hysteria that created but that’s sport and you’ve got to stand by your beliefs, put your hand on your heart and sometimes make some tough decisions.”
For now, though, Gatland is concentrating on his bid to win the RBS 6 Nations with Wales for the third successive time.
“It is such a hard tournament to win,” he said. “It is a tournament of momentum – if you get a start and win the first game or two you have a chance of winning it.
“Three in a row… that would be something special, so there is a lot of pressure we are putting on ourselves. We want to be able to do that, but it is going to be tough.”
Despite their success against northern-hemisphere sides, Wales’ defeat against Australia last Saturday was their ninth in succession against the Wallabies and 18th in a row against major southern-hemisphere opposition.
Gatland insists the gap is being closed, saying: “We are knocking on the door. We know we are not too far away. Less than two years… we are building to the World Cup and that is our goal.
“We are proud of what we have achieved in the last few years in terms of a couple of Grand Slams and the Six Nations title.
“We’ve got a pretty small playing base in Wales. We’ve got a group of special young men who are hopefully going to be around for the next four or five years. It’s a really special time in Welsh rugby.
“In saying that, you want to beat the best. We know we are not too far away – we are a step or two away from it, so we will keep working hard and keep knocking on the door and hopefully we will get that elusive southern-hemisphere scalp we are looking for too.”