The 3 players Warren Gatland CUT from his 2017 Lions squad

The test series was drawn 1–1 – one victory each and a draw in the third match. Of the other tour matches, the Lions won four, lost two and drew one.

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton was appointed as tour captain, a role he also held on the 2013 tour. The Lions squad voted Jonathan Davies their player of the series

Here, we remember the unlucky group of players who only just missed out on the trip. Some are probably still bitter to this day.

The Lions boss was criticised for the “mystifying” omission of Launchbury after revealing the Wasps captain had lost out to England team-mate Courtney Lawes for the final second-row place in the Lions squad. The Lions coach’s desire for a hard edge to take on New Zealand persuaded him to turn to Lawes and overlook England’s player of the 2017 Six Nations. Gatland admitted Launchbury was “very, very unlucky

“There was a long discussion about second rows, and the depth and the quality that we’ve got in those positions,” he said.

“We weren’t going to leave out Alun Wyn Jones or Maro Itoje – they were nailed on for us – and Iain Henderson has done an exceptional job for Ireland. We just discussed the differences between Courtney and Joe and they are different players."

DID YOU KNOW? After Harlequins failed to offer him a professional contract aged 18, he left the club and joined then National League 2 South side Worthing for the 2009–10 season

Roberts had been touted in some quarters to be chosen for a third successive Lions tour, having starred in South Africa eight years ago and then on the 2013 Australia trip, but he did not make the 41-player cut.

Gatland instead went with England's Jonathan Joseph, who has impressed during the 2017 Six Nations.

"You are disappointed not to make a Lions squad, and I was as disappointed as any player who missed out on it.

"You mope around for about a day, and you dust yourself off and get back to training hard and playing your best."

DID YOU KNOW? He was part of the Wales Under 21 team which won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005

Ross Moriarty, Jared Payne and Tommy Seymour all received surprise call-ups, while Ken Owens and Rory Best were both included ahead of Hartley.

‘Dylan’s definitely one of the players who’s been unlucky; it’s probably not the best thing to be an England captain in a Lions year,’ said Gatland.

'You’ve got to feel for him – he missed out in 2013 having been selected and he’ s unlucky to have missed out this time."

DID YOU KNOW? Hartley was born one of three boys (his brothers are Blair and Alex) in Rotorua, a largely rural area in northern New Zealand