What was the best winning Lions tour?

Third Test: Australia v British and Irish Lions

Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney Date: Saturday 2 August Kick-off: 11:00 BST

Coverage: Live text commentary and post-match analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC iPlayer and online

The British and Irish Lions ended a 12-year wait for a Test series win after dramatically defeating Australia 29-26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Things could get even better for Andy Farrell's side as they aim to win the series 3-0 in Sydney this weekend.

They could become the first Lions side since 1927 in Argentina to record a whitewash and the first since the legendary 1974 team to finish a tour unbeaten.

In a podcast series on BBC Sounds, former Lions Matt Dawson and Jamie Roberts join BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones to discuss the best tours.

Where will the Lions of 2025 rank among the previous five winning tours?

Australia - 2013

Jamie Roberts (arms wide) scored the final try of the 2013 Lions tour

The British and Irish Lions ended a 16-year wait for a series win in 2013, with a stunning second-half demolition of Australia to win the deciding third Test 41-16 in Sydney.

Warren Gatland's side almost clinched the series in the second Test but were edged out 16-15 in a gripping encounter.

Wales centre Roberts missed the first two Tests in Australia but returned for the decider and helped the Lions run in 27 points in a spectacular second-half display.

Roberts: "[Before 2025] it was the only tour the Lions have won this century.

"The deciding Test had all the ingredients for the fan. But we'd have been disappointed to lose that series with the quality that we had."

Dawson: "The fans loved that the Lions won that tour, especially the style they did it by thrashing Australia in the third Test."

1989 - Australia

The 1989 tour is remembered for the second Test dubbed 'Battle of Ballymore'

The Lions only lost one game during their 1989 tour of Australia, which was the first Test defeat in Sydney.

Victory in the second Test was potentially helped by a punch-up involving scrum-halves Rob Jones and Nick Farr-Jones at the opening scrum, which sparked a mass brawl and put the Wallabies off their game.

The Lions sealed the third Test when one of the greats of the game, David Campese, famously threw a wild pass on his own tryline and Ieuan Evans dived on the loose ball for the match-winning try.

It was the Lions' first series win since 1974.

Dawson: "Australia went on to win the 1991 World Cup. They won the first Test but the Lions came back to win 2-1.

"The Lions were lost. Growing up, in my single digit years, I don't remember knowing anything about the Lions.

"When I talk to the guys on that tour, they have amazing memories. They set the standard for midweek rugby and that being a thing within the Lions.

"It was a generational change to Lions tours. A flag-in-the-ground moment to help resurrect the Lions.

"The opposition in 1989 were better than 2013."

1971 - New Zealand

Featuring a squad packed with Wales legends including Barry John, Gareth Edwards and JPR Williams, the Lions recorded their only series win in New Zealand in 1971.

The Lions, captained by another Welshman John Dawes and featuring Ireland lock Willie John McBride, won the third Test to take a crucial 2-1 lead into the final match in Auckland.

Williams, who died last year at the age of 74, helped seal the series with a long-range drop-goal that enabled his side to draw the Test 14-14.

Roberts: "It is a Test series win in New Zealand and the only one.

"Those players did incredible things for their countries, but the Lions defined their legacy. Those two tours [1971 and 1974] defined their legacies. That's why those two tours will always be remembered."

1974 - South Africa

McBride captained the famous 'Invincibles' trip to South Africa in 1974, when his side went unbeaten across the entire 22-match tour.

The 1974 team are generally regarded as the greatest Lions side in history after winning three Tests and drawing the last one.

The current crop in Australia have an opportunity to go one better by winning every game in Australia, if they are victorious in the third Test on Saturday in Sydney, although theirs is only a nine-match tour and they lost to Argentina in a warm-up game in Dublin.

Dawson: "When we arrived for our tour in 1997, on most of the television channels in South Africa for hours would be the 'Invincibles' tour.

"Reruns of all the games. Wherever you looked there was something to do with the 'Invincibles'."

Roberts: "The history and aura that surrounds that tour. Yes, they won in New Zealand three years prior but to go unbeaten over that many matches in South Africa is unparalleled.

"There is something about that tour that will never be forgotten."

1997 - South Africa

Jeremy Guscott nailed a late drop-goal in Durban from in front of the posts to win the second Test against South Africa and clinch the 1997 series.

The tour marked the first of the professional era and was the last time before this year that the Lions had clinched a series after two Tests.

The legendary Living With Lions documentary in 1997 showed unfiltered behind-the-scenes footage of the tour, with the series ending 2-1.

England scrum-half Dawson, who started all three Tests, threw a famous dummy to score a crucial late try in the first Test victory.

Dawson: "In 1997, it was a series-winning tour on and off the pitch, as you'd have seen on Living with the Lions.

"We lost one midweek game against the Bulls and one Test match. Every story from every tour has pretty much involved the fans. The 1997 tour started it, the sea of red and rugby cult that went on forever."

Roberts: "It was the first game in the pro era and had public engagement with Living with the Lions. It was the world champions, who they beat in their own backyard.

"They weren't given a chance. It was against the odds."

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