Lions tour ratings: Maro Itoje the main man - Alun Wyn Jones and Robbie Henshaw also impress
Maro Itoje dejected after defeat in the third Test in Cape Town. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
- A late starting replacement for the injured Wyn Jones at loosehead prop but his scrummaging frailties in this company were exposed by the Springboks and went from starter to replacement and then to spectator once Jones returned to fitness. Also conceded a soft and costly penalty that helped turn the tide against the Lions in the second Test.
- Arrived on tour below par and unfit by his own admission after a season in the English second division with Saracens but was parachuted into the first Test matchday squad due to Jones' injury and came off the bench in the first Test and turn the Lions scrum around.
- Became the Lions' third starting Test loosehead of the tour having recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the first two games against South Africa. Showed why Warren Gatland had made him his first-choice in the position.
- Exeter hooker was man of the match against the Stormers and capped his rise to Test starter by scoring the driving maul try in the series-opening win. Couple of lineout throwing wobbles were quickly ironed out but lost the No.2 shirt to Ken Owens for the final Test.
- The 2017 Lions was Mr Dependable in 2021, solid if unspectacular and a good foil for the more explosive Cowan-Dickie. A third Test starter, he and Scarlets team-mate Wyn Jones brought solidity to the scrum alongside Tadhg Furlong.
- Ever-present at tighthead for the second Lions series in a row, Furlong had some ups and downs in the Tests against a world-champion front row but came out on top in his battle with Stephen Kitshoff.
- A late call-up for the unfortunate Andrew Porter and was a worthy replacement off the bench for Furlong, he will have been relieved to have to been cleared from a second-Test citing.
- You could run out of superlatives talking about the tour captain who made his 12th consecutive Lions Test start in the 2021 finale, 12 years after his first in the same country. He had started the opener just 28 days after being ruled out of a fourth tour due to a dislocated shoulder and grew in stature across the series. A Lions legend.
- The Lions player of the series and a genuine successor to AWJ's status as second-row rock and possibly a future captain. Has improved his discipline without losing his abrasiveness and his controlled aggression led the charge for the tourists throughout all three Tests. Immense.
- Unlucky to get limited game time off the bench in the first two games of the series and again to drop out of the squad for the finale but he will return to Munster a credible Test Lion.
- The unfortunate victim of fellow Welshman AWJ's miracle return to the tour, Beard got his chance off the bench in the third Test and added steel to the Lions' lineout and maul on both sides of the ball.
- Did not quite rescale the heights he reached in a powerhouse first-Test performance but part of an unchanged back row that took the fight to the Springboks throughout.
- The opening flanker proved his world-class status in a Lions jersey having cleaned up his act after conceding a couple of early penalties in the first Test.
- A surprise selection for many at No. 8 but the Leinster and Ireland back-rower deserved his three Test starts with effective, and near faultless performances.
- The Six Nations player of the championship came off the bench in the first Test and was lucky not to be carded for a tip tackle on Willie le Roux. Lost his spot on the bench thereafter. Tour rating: 5
A three-time Lions tourist, the Wales No.8 lost the Test jersey to Conan and failed to grab his chance off the bench in the second Test.
- Perhaps the most dynamic of the Lions No.8 options, finally got a chance in the third Test off the bench but had little chance of altering the course of the contest. Tour rating: 5.
- The bolter of the tour who went from many people's idea of the third-choice scrum-half to starting number nine in the first and third Tests. Sharp, incisive and attack-minded, the Scot dovetailed well with Conor Murray.
- A rollercoaster tour for the Munster and Ireland star who served as a surprise tour captain in AWJ's absence before the Tests but lost his starting spot to Price. Did little wrong on a deserved third Lions tour but was outshone by the Scot.
- Proved a dependable, safe pair of hands as the Lions' starting fly-half without really getting a chance to veer from the tourists' kicking game. Missed two crucial penalties, one apiece in the second and third Tests that may have shifted the momentum. Tour ended by an Achilles injury after 11 minutes of the final Test.
- By all accounts one of the most vocal and respected leaders of this tour party even when left out of the final Test squad. Never let the Lions down.
- Missed much of the tour due to an Achilles tendon injury but finally got his chance in the last game, brought in to provide some creative sparks off the bench as Biggar's replacement, he got more time than he imagined and certainly lifted the Lions with his impact.
- The Lions' defensive backline leader who was moved from 12 to 13 for the final Test and helped get the tourists on the front foot in the decider. A really strong series despite missing much of the early tour to a hamstring strain he put in one of the standout Lions performances in the final Test.
Another of the tour's energisers, the Ireland centre finally got his Test cap at 12 in the decider, reuniting with Henshaw to negate Damian de Allende in midfield.
- Trusted by Gatland at 13 for the first Test when Eddie Jones hadn't in the previous five years, it did not quite work out for the Englishman in his battle with Lukhanyo Am and had to settle for a bench role thereafter though unused in the finale.
- Daly's replacement at outside centre for the second Test but failed to bring his strong early-tour form to the international stage.
- The most puzzling ever-present of this Test series. The wing's defensive frailties had been exposed by Japan and again by the Springboks while attacking opportunities never came his way and he always looked second best against Cheslin Kolbe.
- The England wing can be hugely effective and was a Gatland favourite in 2017 and 2021 but, by his own admission, a below-par second Test cost him his place for the finale.
- A surprise starter at full-back ahead of Liam Williams given he was second-choice for Exeter at the end of the season and was exposed under the high ball in the second Test.
- The Wales full-back was so unlucky not to start the first Test and was inexplicably dropped for the second. Yet his aerial prowess was required after the Lions lost the battle for the skies in that middle game and Williams rose to his mission initially though was not the presence he brought to the All Blacks series in 2017.
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