Fly-half: Jonny Wilkinson – ENG
One of the game’s great competitors on the field, the former Springboks scrum-half carried that attitude into his off-field battles since hanging up his boots before passing away in 2017. You only have to watch the legendary Living With Lions video from the South African tour of 1997 to understand just how highly he was rated by the opposition and what a threat he was seen as.
Scrum-half: Conor Murray – IRE
The Irishman is the best box-kicker in the world, has a sharp tactical mind and is tough enough to withstand attention from the most abrasive back row.
Prop: Jason Leonard – ENG
The first Englishman to win 100 international caps. Leonard rode the professional transition and won Grand Slams, a World Cup and a Lions tour. Incredible durability for a front row forward.
Hooker: Keith Wood – IRE
Mad, explosive Irish talent. Wood single handedly redefined the role of the hooker. One of the greatest players to have ever played the game, no other player even comes close to taking his spot here.
Prop: Fran Cotton – ENG
Cotton was a big bear of a man. His technical prowess meant he could play either side of the scrum and he earned legendary status by propping down at tight head for the famous Lions team of 1974. Not only could he scrummage but for a big man he had excellent hands and was a supreme leader as well. Few have excelled for England to the extent he did.
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Lock: Paul O’Connell – IRE
Munster fans will tell you that Superman wears Paul O’Connell pyjamas! The Irish second row was certainly blessed with special rugby powers having been one of the world’s leading tight forwards for more than a decade. A three-times Lions who captained the tour of South Africa in 2009.
Lock: Martin Johnson – ENG
A player who led by example and the kind of man you would always want alongside you in the trenches when the chips are down. Would never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. Captained the Lions on two tours, including the triumphant 1997 trip to South Africa, while he will always be remembered as the man presented with the 2003 World Cup, which England won in Sydney.
Flanker: Richard Hill – ENG
The ultimate players’ player. Did all the unseen, grafting work and just got on with his job in unassuming fashion, putting his body on the line. Able to excel right across the back row, he was a pivotal figure on two Lions trips and an England World Cup winner.
Flanker: Fergus Slattery – IRE
The great Gareth Edwards provided an apt description of the Irish and Lions legend. “He was a ‘put another battery in type of player – non stop’,” said Edwards. In fact sprint tests on that tour showed him to trail only JJ Williams in flat speed. Fantastic all-action openside who impressed as a youngster in ‘71 and took the world – or the Springboks – by storm three years later. Played 61 times for Ireland including 17 as skippe
Number 8: Lawrence Dallaglio – ENG
Went from being a schoolboy chorister to one of the most formidable physical presences in the game of rugby. Had it all in his prime – pace, power, aggression, pride and a steely mind-set. A Lions series winner, a World Cup winner and a trophy magnet with Wasps.
