Forwards win matches, backs decide by how much and it's the fly-half who gets the credit or the blame.

When it comes to The British & Irish Lions it’s most often been the former with a succession of legendary fly-halves from all four nations.

Whether it was Cliff Morgan wowing the South Africans in 1955, Barry John bedazzling New Zealand in 1971 or Gregor Townsend ensuring Sir Ian McGeechan’s gamble paid off in 1997, fly-halves are indelibly linked to the Lions history.

It’s no secret as to why the No 10 jersey has so much importance – these are the men charged with pulling the strings and unleashing the attacking weapons out wide.

More often than not, they also have to kick the points, and for a forward pack the game plan always starts with knocking the opposition fly-half off his stride.

BEGINNINGS

The role of the fly-half is one that has changed dramatically in some ways and stayed the same in others.

On early Lions Tours the likes of Welshman Percy Bush, one of three hat-trick scorers in a Lions ten jersey, showed the sort of pace and eye for a gap that John would emulate more than 60 years later.

In 1910 Cherry Pillman pulled on the No 10 jersey despite being a back rower by trade, but those early fly-halves were certainly smaller than their modern day equivalents.

Irishman George Cromey, who toured South Africa in 1938, was the shortest of them all at just 1m64 some 24cm shorter than Jonny Sexton and Owen Farrell in 2013.

That’s because the role of the fly-half in defence is one that has been transformed during professionalism.

As Phil Bennett, scorer of 208 points in the Lions ten jersey – more than anyone in history – explains,  the advent of professional forwards has changed the game forever for the fly-half.