Greatest British and Irish Lions XV: Loosehead prop

James While

With the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa complete, Planet Rugby takes a stab at selecting the greatest British and Irish Lions XV of all time.

For the next 15 days, we will pick our favourite players from four nominations per position – if you don’t agree with us you can vote on social media for your dream team.

We have judged our criteria solely on contributions to the Lions in Test matches and there’s a few surprises in store.

With something like 120 years worth of players to choose from, it’s been a tough task but here we go with loosehead prop.

Nominees

Fran Cotton (England)

Caps: 7
Tours: 2 (+1 as manager)
Points: 0

England and British and Irish Lions prop Cotton’s international debut came against Scotland in March 1971 and while he was too late to arrive on the international scene to warrant inclusion on the Lions’ 1971 tour of New Zealand, he made his mark three years later in South Africa.

Cotton played in all four Tests of the Lions’ famous win on that tour, forming a powerful scrummaging unit alongside Bobby Windsor and Ian McLauchlan. Cotton, at over six feet tall, was seen by some as too tall for the front-row but he was complemented perfectly by the compact and powerful McLauchlan.

Cotton’s versatility was another key string to his bow, with his four caps in 1974 coming on the tighthead side and three against New Zealand in 1977 on the loosehead.

His association with the Lions looked to have ended in 1980 when he left the tour early due to a bout of viral pericarditis, originally mis-diagnosed as a heart-attack, but in 1997 he served as the tourists’ team manager as they won the series in South Africa.

Greatest Lions moment: In 1977 Cotton was also the subject of one of the sport’s most famous pictures, his mud smeared face being captured as a reminder of the terrible weather conditions against the Junior All Blacks.

Ian McLauchlan (Scotland)

Caps: 8
Tours: 2
Points: 3

‘Mighty Mouse’ McLauchlan was the cornerstone of the British & Irish Lions packs when they enjoyed their most successful period in the 1970s and will forever be remembered for his vital try in the first-Test win over the All Blacks almost 40 years ago to the day.

The Scottish prop played 30 times for the Lions in 1971 and 1974, including all eight Tests on the victorious tours of New Zealand and South Africa. He became revered throughout the rugby playing world for his powerful scrummaging – and can lay claim to scoring one of the most famous Lions Test tries of all time.

Having been considered far too small to be worth worrying about by the New Zealand public and media in 1971, the Jordanhill loosehead ensured both the All Blacks and the Boks had a far different opinion by the time McLauchlan ended his Lions career.

McLaughlan began the 1971 tour as third-choice but stepped into the Test fold when Ray McLoughlin and Sandy Carmichael received injuries in the provincial encounter against Canterbury.

The then 29-year-old performed admirably, maintaining his place in the first XV for the next three Tests in New Zealand and then all four internationals when the Lions created history once more in South Africa three years later.

Greatest Lions moment: McLauchlan was the only try-scorer in a 9-3 first-Test win over the All Blacks that set the Lions on their way to their only series victory over the Kiwis to date.

Tom Smith (Scotland)

Caps: 6
Tours: 2
Points: 0

Smith made his name on the winning 1997 Lions tour of South Africa. Picked to start all three Test matches alongside Paul Wallace and Keith Wood, his strong scrummaging and good hands ensured that their much more highly fancied hosts were defeated 2-1.

Smith had only played three Tests before the tour for Scotland but his impact saw Ian McGeechan select him and he later went on to become the only Scot to play the six consecutive Lions Tests of 1997 and 2001 when he played against Australia.

Smith had made his Scotland debut in 1997 in the Calcutta Cup match and was a first choice for his country for eight years, winning the Five Nations in 1999 and leading them throughout the 2001 Autumn Internationals.

A formidable scrummager and a very similar player to his co-nominee, McLauchlan, Smith is currently facing his biggest challenge of all since being diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer.

The 48-year-old prop has had chemotherapy and is undergoing radiotherapy to treat the lesions in his brain and every one in the sport wishes the Scottish powerhouse the best of fortune in his fight.

Greatest Lions moment: You could choose from a number of moments in 1997, but the battle of the second Test in Durban when Smith secured a turnover as South Africa attacked in the third quarter, to allow the Lions to clear their lines in the last moments, typifies his rugby intellect.

Mako Vunipola (England)

Caps: 8
Tours: 3
Points: 0

Some may question the inclusion of Big Mak in a list of Lions greats, but his stats stand up for themselves. Four wins, one draw, three losses with a win rate of over 50% proves his worth to the great touring club and he is our final nominee.

He may not be the best scrummager in the game, but around the park, put simply, he is an extra back-row forward with exquisite handling skills.

With a third consecutive British & Irish Lions tour under his belt after touring Australia in 2013 and New Zealand in 2017, South Africa 2021 saw Vunipola complete a famous trilogy.

The loosehead featured in all three Tests against the Springboks, coming off the bench in the first and third and starting the second. Vunipola also featured in all three Tests for the Lions in their historic series win against the Wallabies in 2013, despite having less than a year of international rugby under his belt.

Aged just 22 at the time, Vunipola was an integral part of the tour – especially after injuries to both Cian Healy and Gethin Jenkins – and started the second Test in Melbourne.

Vunipola then returned to his birthplace of New Zealand as part of the 2017 touring squad, starting all three Tests against the All Blacks as the Lions secured a memorable drawn series.

Greatest Lions moment: The 2021 tour of South Africa might not be remembered as a classic, but Vunipola’s impact off the bench in the first Test was substantial.

Our pick

With four outstanding candidates to choose from, there’s only one prop that has gone to both South Africa and to New Zealand and walked away with two series wins – our loosehead is the mightiest of mouses, Scotland’s Ian McLauchlan.

by James While

 

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The Lions' greatest ever line-up

Mark Smith and Adam Kyriacou discuss planetrugby.com's website feature of picking the greatest British and Irish Lions team of all time.