David Campese’s British & Irish Lions Team of My Life including ‘the greatest Lions outside centre of all time’
With only a few months until we see the British & Irish Lions wend their way Down Under to Australia, I got thinking – who are the greatest Lions of my lifetime?
We have partnered with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to bring you this series, Team of my Life, in which a famous face from the world of rugby recalls an ultimate XV.
I guess my rugby career started properly in the early eighties and the first tour I can recall vividly was the 1980 trip to South Africa, so that’s my starting point for my team.
Due to scheduling, I only had the honour of facing them four times in Tests, if you’re including the 1989 ANZAC match which was very much Test level, and won only once, which tells you just how good they were on that tour.
I also wanted to pick a side that fitted the attacking ethos of the British and Irish Lions, and the way I liked to play the game, so don’t expect too much place kicking from my selection!
David Campese’s Dream Lions XV
15 Jason Robinson (England): Not his Lions position but he was going to be in my side come what may. Electric, one of the finest I ever saw and as an attacking back three player, on a par with the likes of Christian Cullen, the highest praise I could possibly give. Electric Down Under in 2001.
14 George North (Wales): I won’t forget what he did to the Wallabies in 2013 and I am sure others will remember too – especially Israel Folau! He was brilliant for that short time when he had an edge of pace and he absolutely dominated that tour in 2013.
13 Jeremy Guscott (England): I played many times against Jerry and first came across him in 1989 when he was pivotal in the Lions series win at the age of 22. In the red shirt, there’s no doubt he’s the greatest Lions outside centre of all time. In two series, he made the clinching plays and his contributions in South Africa in 1997 and his brilliance in New Zealand in the Wellington win in 1993 sets him apart. His 70% win record speaks for itself.
12 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland): I’ve moved BOD to 12 and I know some will moan, but I want him in alongside Jerry. Sure, there’s always a question over whether he really impacted the Lions on the pitch in the way he should have done, but he shone in the first Test in 2001 and would work brilliantly in the ethos of my team.
11 Ieuan Evans (Wales): Given I gifted him a series clinching try, I have to pick my old buddy on the left wing. Thank god there were no text messages then otherwise I’d have never heard the last of it. I blame Greg Martin for not catching the pass, but the truth is that you could never switch off with Ieuan around. A great pal and a great wing.
10 Gregor Townsend (Scotland): A few raised eyebrows here but the way he got the best out of Scott Gibbs and Guscott in 1997 by running hard to the line and challenging means he’s the man for my team at 10. Jonny Wilkinson never achieved a series win with the Lions and if I picked Rob Andrew at 10 he’d bore a glass eye to sleep, so Toony it is!
9 Terry Holmes (Wales): People talk about the physicality of Joost van der Westhuizen as being game changing but in the historical context of the sport, Holmes did Joost things 15 years before him. He was like a fourth back-row but with the pace and handling of a back three player. World class.
The forwards
8 Lawrence Dallaglio (England): Lol’s best Lions tour was on the blindside in 1997 when he was absolutely brilliant. He became a key leader and world class player in South Africa and would have played many more Lions Tests but for injury. Eight is his best position and that’s where I’m picking him.
7 Richard Hill (England): Hilly is England’s greatest six, but arguably the Lions’ greatest seven, where he played the majority of his Tests. His worth cannot be understated – the fact his injury was pivotal in changing the course of a series in 2001 is proof enough. A great, but I must also shout out Finlay Calder, a real leader as we saw in 1989.
6 Sam Warburton (Wales): Rather like Hill, Sam was best found for Wales on the other side of the scrum at seven, but for the Lions, it was his impact at six in 2017 where he really shone, and for that reason he leapfrogs Mike Teague. Given both he and Richard are easy going guys, they can work out who plays where!
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales): A Welsh and Lions icon. A man of thundering passion who summed up everything good about the Lions for so long. World class and ridiculous longevity.
4 Martin Johnson (England, captain): Johnno and the 1997 Lions basically wrote the book for professionalism in the Northern Hemisphere. It was in South Africa where that great 2000-03 English side was born and it was Johnson that glued it all together. For that reason, he’s also my skipper.
3 Jason Leonard (England): Jase was better as a loosehead, but in 1993 he anchored the scrum at tighthead against the best, New Zealand. The ‘Fun Bus’ is in charge of tour entertainment and I know I couldn’t pick anyone better for the job!
2 Keith Wood (Ireland): The spirit of the Lions summed up in one broken body. Pivotal in 1997, a rock in 2001, he was a marvellous footballer and a man that, along with Jase, can lead the Tour Courtroom proceedings.
1 Tom Smith (Scotland): Technically one of the best you’ll ever see, although I also considered Nick Popplewell and David Sole. ‘Tam’ was mobile, hard as nails and a relentless scrummager. He’s sadly missed in the game now, a life cut short.
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