It seems fair to say Derek Quinnell would have been ranked as an outsider for a Lions Test start had anyone been discussing such matters ahead of the tour to New Zealand in 1971.
He hadn’t even featured for Wales at that point.
And Mervyn Davies, the redoubtable England flanker Peter Dixon, John Taylor, legend-in-the-making Fergus Slattery and Roger Arneil, who by that stage had won more than 20 caps for Scotland, were all outstanding back-row operators.
But Quinnell won his Lions cap on that tour, and in the all-important third Test when, with the series tied at 1-1, Carwyn James brought him in to look after All Blacks scrum-half Sid Going. The then youngster from Llanelli, who’d headed into the tour at the tender age of 21, fulfilled his brief as he did a number on a player who was to be later described by historians of his local union, North Auckland, as “a bundle of barbed wire, cast iron and rubber. Sid ran like a slippery eel making for the water”.
He didn’t get far against Quinnell.
Outsiders do come through on Lions tours.
Read more : How Warren Gatland tamed the impossible job
Warren Gatland’s team to face Japan on Saturday contains a number of players who will need to take every chance that comes along if they are to feature in the Tests against South Africa.
Starting this weekend.
Here are seven of them.
Bundee Aki
With Rob Henshaw’s odds to figure in the first Test roughly in the ball-park of those bookmakers might set for the sun coming up in the morning, the interest in midfield is expected to focus on who will partner the Irishman.
Gatland’s comments on Owen Farrell at the team announcement for Japan were significant, saying how the Englishman had attracted the most votes when the Lions players were asked to pick a leadership group.
The New Zealander clearly values Farrell as a leader.
But there’s too much at stake in South Africa for anyone to be picked on reputation and the Englishman will need to find some form after an ordinary Six Nations.
Scotland’s Chris Harris is also in the mix.
Aki will need to come from behind to make the Test side, then.
But he’s as tough as teak and will not fail for want of trying.
Duhan van der Merwe
It’s wing or bust for the big man, and with Anthony Watson, Josh Adams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams for competition out wide, he faces some challenge.
That said, he’s 6ft 4in, 16st 10lb, can accelerate rapidly and is a nightmare to mark.
He can outpace defenders and go through them if that’s what the situation demands.
Don’t rule him out of Test contention.
Rory Sutherland
He’s another who’s not fancied as a Test starter, with Wyn Jones the favourite at loosehead prop and Mako Vunipola expected to lead the challenge to the Welshman.
But Sutherland is an accomplished scrummager and he can hit hard in the tackle.
For Scotland in recent years he’s been outstanding.
To stand a chance of winning a cap, he’ll need to be at his best setpiece-wise and match the industry of Jones and Vunipola around the field.
But he’ll head for South Africa feeling quietly confident that he can give a decent account of himself.
Zander Fagerson
Tadgh Furlong appears nailed on for a Test spot and there’s Kyle Sinckler to take into account as well.
But the 6ft 2in, 19st 10lb Fagerson is a huge man who is surprisingly mobile and keeps going, blessed as he is with an engine that doesn’t seem to have an ‘off’ button.
He’ll probably need a lucky break to secure a Test place.
But such breaks do happen.
Iain Henderson
Many would like to see this guy start against the Springboks.
But with Maro Itoje and Alun Wyn Jones for competition he’ll need to deliver something special.
He had an excellent Six Nations, making more metres, achieving more turnovers and having more ball-in-hand moments than his specialist rivals.
And he didn’t give away a single penalty.
Coaches tend to enjoy such discipline.
A month or so ago in The Telegraph, Will Greenwood said of him: “Henderson is in my starting Test XV at the moment.
“He reminds me a lot of Jeremy Davidson from 1997...because he’s not just a huge lump. He is a clever rugby player who is top-quality in the lineout and a great ball-handler.
“Never has a bad game.”
But the presence in the squad of the other two mean he’s far from a Test banker.
Hamish Watson
How can the player of the Six Nations be considered a Test outsider?
Because Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric — a man who has never missed a single tackle in a Lions jersey: 107 hits attempted, every one of them nailed — are also set to be in the back-row mix, that’s how.
Expect Watson to battle all the way for a place, though.
Pinball, as he is known in Scotland for the way he bounces off defenders, is a strong carrier, good over the ball and doesn’t miss many hits himself.
Keep an eye on him.
Which Test long-shots do you see coming through to challenge for places against South Africa? Have your say in the comments below.
Jack Conan
He has Taulupe Faletau and Sam Simmonds for company at No. 8, so he’s not someone who’s been heavily tipped to face South Africa.
But anyone who saw him play for Leinster against Exeter Chiefs in the Heineken Champions Cup wouldn’t rule him completely out of the equation.
He’s a muscular carrier who can whip up a storm in the back row.
Again, though, he’ll probably need fortune to smile on him.
