Tom Curry breaks his silence on 'underprepared' Lions tour

The Lions got their test series against South Africa off on the right foot in the first match, having come from behind at half time to secure a 22-17 victory in Cape Town, but it was only downhill from there.

“It’s just the fact that their game plan is very obvious and we didn’t implement a game plan that was… obvious. Do you know what I mean?” revealed Curry to The Telegraph.

“To combat the aerial battle and their kicking game, we needed to be better as a group at imposing ourselves. We just came off second best in a lot of things and that made it more difficult. We could have gone into those games better prepared, I think.

“Clarity is a massive part of that. I wouldn’t say it’s the be-all and end-all. You’ve got to turn up and actions mean more than any words.

“But we had an opportunity and we missed it. It’ll be a massive learning curve because those opportunities don’t come around very often.”

hool – where the master in charge of rugby was their uncle and former England international John Olver.

The flanker was “first on the team-sheet,” according to Martin Johnson and Sir Clive Woodward. Praised by Jeremy Guscott for his “work rate”, it is no wonder the forward scored so many points.

Curry said: "I have to go Hilly. As a mentor growing up from 15 he has to be in my team. His reputation and how good he was as a player, I think he'd be really fun to play with."

The Zimbabwe-born flanker, who was capped 83 times over an 11-year period, hung up his boots earlier this year following a stellar career.

Curry said: "Watching him a lot, he's probably the person I've tried to emulate most. Also not just as a player, I'd love to have been around him as a bloke during his training regime. It always looked intense.

"An incredible player."

An integral part of the World Cup-winning squad 13 years ago. His commitment to the badge is also shown at club level, with 227 appearances for Wasps.

Curry said: "Dallaglio was a big player for us growing up and our Dad loved him. His ability at eight and his physical carrying I think would make this back-row really exciting. Probably a bit of a boring answer.

"The only other option would be Sebastien Chabal. He was probably the first person we idolised as Sale supporters when we moved to the North West."