I LISTENED to Martin Johnson speak recently and he said if he could go back to any time in his rugby career, he’d go back to the 1997 Lions tour because it was so, so special – and that is coming from someone who has won the World Cup. For me, it was also the pinnacle of my career, a very special moment, although I didn’t realise quite how special back then because you are caught in the moment.
Going up against the Springboks then was even more daunting than it is now because the game hadn’t been professional for that long so we were maybe a wee bit behind in terms of physical stature but...