LONG READ Iconic Lions moments of the professional era: 5-1

With Saturday’s first Test of the series against Australia fast approaching, RugbyPass has been counting down some of the most iconic moments in Lions history.

With due deference – and apologies – to the legendary teams of previous generations, we restricted ourselves to the seven tours of the professional era since 1997.

Our panel of RugbyPass writers – featuring contributions from Bryn Palmer, Jamie Lyall, Neil Squires, Owain Jones and Pat McCarry – have been jogging your memories with five moments on each day this week.

Here are our final five. Do let us know your thoughts on our selection, politely of course, and feel free to suggest your own alternatives.

 5. Weaving Williams sparks O’Brien try in first Test v New Zealand (2017)

The All Blacks were expecting Warrenball and found themselves chasing Welsh vapour trails and an English flyer before the Tullow Tank ploughed over for the coup-de-grace.

You wonder when Liam Williams decided, ‘This is on’.

Williams took a pass from Anthony Watson, deep in his 22, as a charging Kieran Read zeroed in. He ducked right then sprung to his left. Aaron Cruden was in pursuit and herding towards Sonny Bill Williams. The Lions full-back cut inside those two and sprinted towards halfway, before offloading to Jonathan Davies. The centre did a one-two with Elliot Daly, burning off Anton Lienert-Brown, but still had work to do.

Davies, crucially, rode an initial tackle from Beauden Barrett, near the tryline. He still had the strength and wherewithal to spin, locate a charging Sean O’Brien and take out Barrett, Israel Dagg and Aaron Smith with his offload back inside.

“That will go down in the annals of Test history as one of the best tries ever scored,” declared New Zealand coach Steve Hansen, after the match. (PM)

Watch O’Brien’s score in the top 10 Lions tries of the 2000s on RugbyPass TV. 

4. ‘This is your Everest, boys’ – Telfer’s address before first Test in 1997

On the morning of the first Test in 1997, the white lion prowled the team room. Cameras capture Jim Telfer arranging chairs in a circle. His lapel mic picks up the quiet, mumbling rehearsals of what became the most iconic address in Lions history.

Telfer summoned his forwards. He leaned heavily on his own Lions pain, Series defeats as a player and a coach, and his experiences as a teacher, using intentional silence to cow unruly teenagers. Telfer spoke of Everest because he felt he’d come up short in his quest for the peak in Lions red.

In his four-minute speech, the Scot never shouted. He was prone to bombastic tubthumping and flying spittle. His aura, and the deep personal weight behind his words, are immortalised by the Living with Lions documentary.

“This is your Everest, boys,” he said. “Very few ever get the chance to get to the top of Everest. You have the chance today. Being picked is the easy bit; to win for the Lions in a Test match is the ultimate.”

Telfer flipped over his chart, showed the forwards dismissive quotes from the South African press, and encouraged them to find their solace and embrace “the greatest game of your lives”.

Sporting oratory at its most compelling. And the Lions pack lived up to it. (JL)

3. Waltzing O’Driscoll dances through Wallabies in first Test in 2001

Lightning burst from a bottle.

Ireland supporters could barely contain themselves at the prospect of their star man linking up with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Rob Howley and Jason Robinson. He was already carving teams up in the green jersey – famously scoring a hat-trick in a rare Parisian win over France, in 2000 – and now had world-class talents all around him.

The Aussies had been offered glimpses of O’Driscoll’s raw talent in the warm-ups. The 22-year-old started the tour at full-back but reunited with Ireland team-mate Rob Henderson for a guts and glory centre partnership.

Before the match-clock struck 2:45, O’Driscoll, Howley, Wilkinson and Matt Perry had all combined to set Robinson away for the opening try. Just after the half-hour mark, O’Driscoll and Robinson sliced and diced, with Dafydd James getting the score. The Wallabies had been warned.

In truth, they had their hands full plugging as many leaks possible. The Aussies were praying for the half-time siren when O’Driscoll took a pass, 55 metres out, and gushed through. Nathan Grey and Michael Foley pawed at fresh air, Matt Burke was wrong-footed and Joe Roff could not chase back in time.

“All of Ireland is up,” declared the commentator. It was, and it was bouncing. (PM)

Watch the top Lions Test debuts, including O’Driscoll’s, on RugbyPass TV.

2. North’s stunning solo try puts Lions on course for First Test win in 2013

The Lions were 7-3 down after 25 minutes of the first Test in Australia in 2013 when George North fielded a high kick from Wallabies full-back Berrick Barnes on the 10m line inside his own half. What followed elevated a prodigious talent into a global star.

The first thought of the Welsh wing, then 21, was to run it back and set up a ruck. But spotting a gap between James O’Connor and Pat McCabe, a swift change of direction saw him surge between, and then away from, the flailing Aussie duo.

Suddenly he was into open prairie, with gas to burn. Barnes rushed up to meet him but a devastating step off his right foot left the Wallaby full-back face down on the Brisbane turf as North scorched away to the left corner.

His taunting, finger-pointing gesture towards covering Australia scrum-half Will Genia elicited a “lot of stick” from team-mates and a mild rebuke from Lions legend Andy Irvine, the 2013 tour manager. “George is a really nice lad but in the heat of battle, sometimes you do get a bit carried away.”

North said he “felt horrendous for doing it” and later apologised to Genia. But you can perhaps forgive the exuberance of youth after one of the all-time great Lions tries. “It’s very difficult to explain your emotions when you’ve scored a try like that,” North said. “It was pretty special.” Just a bit. (BP)

Watch the top 10 moments from the 2013 tour on RugbyPass TV.

1. Guscott’s drop for glory seals series victory in 1997

What other player in the professional era has had an individual moment to win a Test series for the Lions? But if the England icon stole the glory, the second Test victory at Durban’s King’s Park encapsulated the collective bravery, brawn and brain that celebrated squad summoned to overcome the world champion Springboks.

The Lions, 1-0 up in the series, endured a ferocious physical barrage, conceding three tries – all, crucially, unconverted – but hung tough, five Neil Jenkins penalties leaving the score 15-15 entering the closing minutes.

Neil Back stole the ball back, implausibly, at a South African ruck. Keith Wood hoofed it down-field and hared after it. The Lions won a lineout via Jeremy Davidson, fly-half Gregor Townsend darted into space but was caught at the bottom of a ruck on the hosts’ 22. Matt Dawson, sizing up his options, heard Guscott barking for the ball.

He assumed the ‘Prince of Centres’ had seen space out wide, but Guscott, a fly-half until he was 19, had seen the whole thing unfolding and made the call. “Everything seemed to happen in slow motion,” he recalled – the ball drifting towards him 15m out, the lazy swing of his right boot, the ball sailing high between those towering black-and-white uprights into the Durban sky.

“I prayed it wouldn’t miss or be charged down. The sense of elation I felt when I eventually looked up and saw the ball soar between the posts will stay with me forever.” (BP)

Watch the full match replay of the second Test in 1997 on RugbyPass TV.