1:13 Alan Tait and Scott Gibbs excelled as the Lions sealed a fabulous first Test win in South Africa on the 1997 tour
Jeremy Guscott’s drop-goal in the second Test saw the Lions over the line and Wonderwall rang out on that famous night in Durban. A tour that will never be forgotten; the Lions would never be the same again.
2001 Australia – 2-1 DEFEAT
Four years on, it was the world champions again. Professionalism was becoming more established and the Lions chose New Zealander, Graham Henry, to succeed Ian McGeechan as head coach. In the first Test, Henry’s team delivered an almost perfect display in front of a sea of red in Brisbane. Another ex-rugby leaguer, Jason Robinson, who had only been selected by England at union a few months earlier, set the Lions on their way to victory…
0:32 Jason Robinson got the Lions off the a flyer in 2001, but despite a victorious first Test they fell to a 2-1 loss
This remains the best performance from a Lions team that I have been privileged to witness. But, Australia showed their fight and class to turn the series around.
2005 New Zealand – 3-0 DEFEAT
What a disappointment for the Lions this trip turned out to be. This time, a northern hemisphere team was in possession of the World Cup but Sir Clive Woodward’s England success could not be transported to New Zealand. Henry, now in charge of the All Blacks, got his Lions series win in the end. The playing highlight surely came in the second Test in Wellington as a young Dan Carter produced the most complete fly-half performance you will ever see…
1:00 Dan Carter put in one of the great individual displays of all time to see off the Lions in 2005
Off the field, the travelling Lions fans were a hit but, on the pitch, their team went to what always seemed destined to be an inevitable clean sweep of Test match defeats.
2009 South Africa – 2-1 DEFEAT
A return to playing the world champions…the Lions gave their supporters a truly epic experience, if not the result they wanted, in the most brutal series that I’ve ever seen. McGeechan returned as head coach but his side lost the first two Tests – although, on each occasion, the result could easily have gone the other way. In the dying seconds of the second Test in Pretoria, with the scores level, Ronan O’Gara ignored the draw and went for broke…
0:59 With the game level in the closing stages, Ronan O’Gara went to win it in 2009, but ended up costing his side
To their great credit, the Lions came back and won the ‘dead’ rubber but it was South Africa who had won the key moments, just managing to keep the Lions at bay.
2013 Australia – 2-1 WIN
Warren Gatland, an assistant coach in 2009, stepped up to head coach. Ironically, the Barbarians ‘warm-up’ in Hong Kong remains the hottest, most uncomfortable rugby day I can recall. The series in Australia was initially too close for comfort too: two points in it to the Lions in the first Test and one point to Australia in the second. But the Lions blew Australia away in the third Test with Jamie Roberts’ try effectively ending the contest long before the final whistle…
0:34 Jamie Roberts was among the try scorers as the Lions romped to a third Test and series victory in Australia in 2013
The following day, the Lions management were given a standing ovation in a Sydney seaside restaurant as they relaxed and dined with their families. The fish and chips weren’t bad either!
2017 New Zealand – 1-1 DRAWN
Back to the world champions hosting theme but, this time, it was the ‘back-to-back’ world champions. For Kiwi, Warren Gatland, it was always going to be very special, but it turned out to be special for us all. First blood went to the All Blacks but they then saw red in the second Test when Sonny-Bill Williams’ sending-off changed the direction of the contest. The decider at Eden Park provided the most extraordinary finish to a series that you could possibly imagine…
1:45 With a Test victory apiece, the decider in New Zealand on the 2017 tour was highly dramatic
At full-time, it felt very strange to have no winner after all of that – but it felt appropriate too. The post-match photo, with the two squads intermingled, has become my favourite Lions’ image.
2:58 A look back on some of the iconic moments from the Lions’ 2017 tour of New Zealand
Well, for now anyway…
Sourse: skysports.com
