In a head-to-head battle between two of the world’s best in Kieran Read and Taulupe Faletau, it was always going to be tough to come out on top.
Bu looking back on the series in his latest column for The Rugby Paper, former Lions centre Jeremy Guscott was in no doubt which of the two stars shone brightest.
He wrote: “After three high-octane, ferocious encounters every player should be proud to have played their part. For me, Faletau stands out.
“He came of age on this tour by going toe to toe with the world’s best number eight, the 100-cap Kieran Read.
“Faletau is a consistently high-level performer who gets himself stuck into everything and physically drains himself out every time he takes the field.
“And the scary thing is there’s another level he’ll go to now with his threat out wide in the Read mode.”
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Guscott, who famously kicked the winning drop goal in the second Test against South Africa in 1997, added: “The big concern before the tour was how would the Lions cope without Billy Vunipola?
“We needn’t have worried with Faletau on the plane.”