There are a number of players who were called up to the British & Irish Lions who were actually quite forgettable.
How many of these names do you remember pulling on the red shirt?!…
#1. Andy Titterell (2005)
With two England appearances to his name, Clive Woodward seemingly saw enough in the forward to put him on the plane. The hooker would make just one appearance for the Lions before winning just three more England caps.
DID YOU KNOW? After his retirement, Titterell joins Wasps backroom staff as their new Strength and Conditioning Coach
#2. Ollie Smith (2005)
Smith scored a try against Argentina on his Lions debut and made five further appearances in the Tour that followed to New Zealand. This game was later granted test status by the IRB. During his career, he played for Harlequins, Montpellier and Leicester Tigers before a knee injury forced him to retire. A specialist outside centre, who occasionally played inside centre or wing, he made five England appearances in a career that was frequently interrupted by injuries.
#3. Robin McBryde (2001)
The former Wales forwards coach had work to do when he was chosen by Graham Henry, with Keith Wood the undisputed senior hooker and Phil Greening, then a mobile and skilful No.2 at the hub of a coming English forward pack, his rivals. McBryde never made much headway and his tour ended up being curtailed by injury.
DID YOU KNOW? McBryde worked as an overhead linesman before becoming a professional rugby player.
#4. Tom Court - 2013
Called in as cover for the injured Alex Corbisiero, Court was a highly surprising choice to be drafted in not least because his status as an automatic squad pick for Irish internationals was venturing on shaky ground at that time. It just so happened, however, that he was holidaying in Australia at the time
#5. Dylan Hartley - 2013
In May 2013, Hartley was sent off in the Aviva Premiership final against Leicester and banned for 11 weeks after being found guilty of verbally abusing a match official. Despite already being photographed in full kit, this act cost Hartley his place in the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. He would never go on a Lions tour before retiring.
DID YOU KNOW? During his early days in England Hartley swapped positions from prop to hooker
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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