Jonny Is so Valuable to the Lions That They Have to Protect Him... Just As We Did with Barry John ; but Gareth Edwards Can't Wait to See If Clive's Men Have the Makings of Greatness the Lions of '71

Summary

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LUNCHTIME in Cardiff and St Mary Street is quivering with double- takes. Some stop and stare, others point, a few call respectful greetings and one man boldly pumps his hand. Gareth Edwards smiles indulgently. After 40 years of practice, he can handle the attention.

There are those who insist that Edwards is the most talented man ever to play the game. It is an enormous claim, since it sets him at the head of the line which began with William Webb Ellis of Rugby School, who took the ball in his arms and ran with it on a notable afternoon in 1823.

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Extract

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Jonny Is so Valuable to the Lions That They Have to Protect Him... Just As We Did with Barry John ; but Gareth Edwards Can't Wait to See If Clive's Men Have the Makings of Greatness the Lions of '71

But several perceptive judges place Edwards on that pedestal.

Much of his reputation was forged in the fire of 10 Test matches for the British and Irish Lions. Swift, brave and sublimely intuitive, scrum-half Edwards conspired with a group of great players to show a tired old game just how wonderful it could be.

In the summer of 1971, they won a Test series in New Zealand, the only side from these islands to work the trick. In doing so, they set intimidating standards for the men who would come after them.

The Lions of 2005 are the latest to aspire to those standards. Unlike...

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