Lions greatest XV: Jason Leonard (1989) – tighthead

L ions tight head props are the strongest of the strong, the men with iron-girder necks, backs and legs who have to absorb and transmit the physical shock-wave involved as 16 Test forwards pack down and shove against each other.
Their main job is to ensure that the platform is rock-solid on their own team’s put-in – or to drive forward on the right-hand side to give their No.8 and a scrum-half a free channel to attack with the opposition back row wheeled out of position. A great tight head is an indispensible part of a winning international pack, and The Lions have had some of the greatest No.3s in the trade.
Rugby Paper chief writer Nick Cain says:  “The tight head heroes of the winning Lions Tours of 1971, 1974, 1989 and 1997 are immortals of the game, and among the toughest of them was Sean Lynch. The Irishman came through to prop in all four Tests of the 1971 series against New Zealand after Sandy Carmichael had been forced out of the Tour with facial injuries following the infamous Canterbury match, and anchored a pack which had the measure of the All Blacks.
“Fran Cotton was the Test tight head on the 1974 unbeaten Tour of South Africa, and a world class operator who was part of a pack that dominated in every department. Cotton also had the versatility to become the Test loose head in New Zealand three years later. This enabled the 1977 Tour management to pick Graham Price, the formidable Welsh scrummager, at tight head in one of the most powerful set-piece front rows The Lions have fielded.
“Jason Leonard also had his finest 80 minutes as a Lion at tight head on the 1993 tour of New Zealand, playing superbly on the ‘wrong’ side when the tourists notched their record 20-7 second Test win over the All Blacks, before losing the decisive third Test.
“Paul Wallace was a bolter on the 1997 Tour, and the compact Irish prop packed low enough to negate the huge Springbok size and weight advantage, playing a key role in The Lions series victory.”
England legend Jeff Probyn says: “The great Graham Price, the Bear Iain Milne, the appropriately named Dai Young (appropriate because on the 89 tour he went white-water rafting without a lifejacket despite not being able to swim and had to be rescued by Gareth Chilcott when the boat overturned) and the durable Jason Leonard are just a few of the great players to fill that position.
“For me the greatest would have to be Jason simply because he was not a tight head and had to quickly adapt to life on the other side. To play both sides of the front row is extremely difficult and moving usually takes a time of adjustment, Jason had to make that adjustment in a week when it became obvious that the selectors had made a mistake with their selected tight head props for the ‘93 Tour of New Zealand.”
Phil Keith-Roach, England’s scrum guru when they won the World Cup in 2003, adds: “Two Lions packs have dominated their opposition – 1974 in South Africa when Fran Cotton was tight head and 1977 in New Zealand when Graham Price wore No3.
“The 1974 team, with Mike Burton as midweek back-up, drilled every team, so Cotton gets my vote.”
Also mentioned: Sean Lynch, Graham Pryce, Fran Cotton
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