The British and Irish Lions: Memories and a Team for 2013

For tradition and prestige, there is very little in sport that comes close to a British and Irish Lions tour. With its roots firmly planted in the honest soils of rugby’s amateur era, there is a definite romance about the very best players from the United Kingdom and Ireland burying their patriotic particulars and laying siege to the southern hemisphere as one.

In this age of overkill and fixture congestion, the tour’s standing as a quadrennial event retains a compelling sense of mystique. For me, certainly, it was an instant and all-consuming fascination.

The year was 2001 and, at nine o’clock in the morning for two Saturdays running, I found myself in a bar on the Greek island of Lemnos – an island in the Aegean Sea where I was on holiday with my family. The bar, by no coincidence, was the only within miles that possessed Sky Sports, something that for my dad was as precious as the Holy Grail; it meant he could witness the second and third Tests of the Lions’ series against Australia.

Though, by this point, I had been playing rugby for a number of years, my knowledge of the professional game was non-existent beyond Neil Jenkins – on whom my nan regularly offered lectures throughout my childhood. In fact, only my dad's relentless tales of Gareth Edwards and JPR Williams had coaxed me away from the beach and onto the coach from the hotel two days prior to my twelfth birthday. Thankfully, as it turned out, my skepticism was unnecessary. As the bar swayed to the songs of a hundred drunkards, I couldn't stop smiling.

The noise, collisions and characters of those two matches were irresistible. Keith Wood was effervescent, his bald, pale head gleaming brightly in the floodlights. Captain Martin Johnson seemed a gnarled pillar of strength, Brian O’Driscoll sparkling. Even then, I was impressed by the composure of a 22 year-old Jonny Wilkinson, who seemed unfazed by a baying crowd of 56,000 people.Then there were the bad guys, John Eales’ Aussies.

Joe Roff's deadly finishes and the unerring boot of Matt Burke made my heart sink, as did every charge by the monstrous Toutai Kefu. I will never forget Nathan Grey cynically smashing his elbow into Richard Hill's face at Melbourne, if only because – thanks to the hordes of incensed pissheads either side of me – I learned a few new insults. Equally indelible is the memory of George Gregan’s celebration at the final whistle of the decider in Sydney. Seconds after a 29-23 win, the diminutive (and – as I can now admit through gritted teeth – brilliant) scrum-half made a pistol with his fingers, shot into the sky and blew away the smoke with a beaming grin. Because of my irrational loyalty to a side I had only been aware of for a fortnight, I was utterly devastated. The Wallabies had, sickeningly, repelled the tourists' charge.

In eighteen months time, a new litter of Lions will head back to the Antipodes to avenge the loss of a decade ago, as well as two series losses that have followed – ignominiously against the rampaging All Blacks in 2005 and so narrowly in South Africa three years ago.

As the recent World Cup has shown, Australia will be brimming with mercurial flair. Quade Cooper is an impossibly talented fly-half, while James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale outside him are close to being complete three-quarters. At their helm will be David Pocock, an openside flanker who may eclipse Richie McCaw. Enough said.

Over the next three months, the Six Nations will reveal a great deal about the make-up of the squad to travel down under next summer. It promises at least to be an open tournament with all the predictability of a Marc Lièvremont press conference. Before it all gets underway, though, here is my British and Irish Lions side to start against Australia in the first Test at Suncorp Satdium in Brisbane on June 22, 2013.

Loosehead Prop: Cian Healey, Leinster and Ireland. A menace in the tight and the loose, Healey has provided the selfless bedrock for his club’s electric displays after an impressive World Cup that included a win over Australia.

Hooker: Ross Ford, Edinburgh and Scotland. Experience of the South Africa tour, as well as 53 caps, counts for him. Abrasive and industrious enough to oust England’s Dylan Hartley.

Tighthead Prop: Gethin Jenkins, Cardiff Blues and Wales. Made a huge dent in the Springbok scrum before fracturing his eye socket in 2009's second Test. Scored for his club against Leinster at the weekend from close range to limber up nicely for stint with Wales.

Lock: Richie Gray, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland. A revelation over the last twelve months who will be a nuisance in the lineout at a touch under 6’ 10”. Can ink his name into the reckoning with a good Six Nations.

Lock: Paul O’Connell, Munster and Ireland. Immense, and deserved, reputation alone gives him the nod. A true winner – it is no coincidence that Munster regularly end up on the right side of tight scorelines.

Blindside Flanker: Toby Faletau, Newport-Gwent Dragons and Wales. Will have to contend with Irish duo of Stephen Ferris and Sean O’Brien but made a scarcely credible 86 tackles during Wales’ run at the World Cup. Recent try in Amlin Cup from 80 metres showed another dimension.

Openside Flanker and Captain: Sam Warburton, Cardiff Blues and Wales. Perfect man to nullify Pocock at the breakdown and has exactly the temperament to lead this side. Will be bursting to banish memories of Alain Rolland’s red card.

Number Eight: Jamie Heaslip, Leinster and Ireland. Has improved steadily since his herculean performance in the third Test win over South Africa in Johannesburg, which speaks volumes for the player he is now.

Scrum-Half: Danny Care, Harlequins and England. Perhaps the most controversial choice but Care, at his best, combines great service, composed communication and a thorny running game. Shame he has to wait until after the Six Nations to show everyone.

Fly-Half: Jonathan Sexton, Leinster and Ireland. As Will Greenwood suggests, he is the best stand-off in the world at the moment. Unleashing the Leinster backs deliciously and developing into a truly world-class performer.

Left Wing: George North, Llanelli Scarlets and Wales. Scarily, the tour to Australia will come a month after his 21st birthday. And he’ll still be very big and very quick.

Inside Centre: Jamie Roberts, Cardiff Blues and Wales. Has the physical presence to genuinely scare opponents, even at the highest level. Player of 2009 Test series against Springboks cannot be ignored.

Outside Centre: Brian O’Driscoll, Leinster and Ireland. Almost certain to add to his six Lions caps. At 34, O’Driscoll will waltz with the Wallabies again for his international swansong.

Right Wing: Chris Ashton, Northampton Saints and England. Still, regardless of the unwanted mental lapses on and off the field, a deadly support runner who will enhance his strike record, which currently stands at this Six Nations.

Full Back: Rob Kearney, Leinster and Ireland. Nearly back to the form that wrestled the Test shirt away from Lee Byrne in South Africa. Would be a deadly rapier in this backline.

Replacements: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers and England), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints and England), Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster and Ireland), Sean O’Brien (Leinster and Irelaind), Mike Phillips (Bayonne and Wales), James Hook (Perpignan and Wales), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints and England).