Keith Wood's contribution to the score that won the Lions the 1997 series against South Africa summed up his singular style as a hooker.

His stand-out contribution wasn't the throw-in to the lineout that set up the field position from which Jeremy Guscott dropped the decisive goal in the second Test - rather, it was the break round the side of a ruck, kick ahead and pursuit that forced the Springboks into conceding possession deep in their own territory in the first place.

The Garryowen, Harlequins, Munster and Ireland front-rower gave the Lions an added dimension in the loose and at the breakdown in both 1997 and 2001 .

Wood followed in his father's footsteps when he became a Lion - dad Gordon had propped the scrum on the 1959 tour , appearing in two Tests.

Gordon had started his rugby life as a schoolboy wing, which is perhaps where Keith acquired his own talent for wreaking havoc in open play. What made Wood Jr such a stand-out performer in the red jersey was the skill he offered his team beyond the conventional hooker's trade, as well as his inspirational abilities as a leader.

It is hard to decide which said more about his confidence in open play: the fact that he actually went for a dropped goal in the first Test of the 2001 series from the sort of range only accessible to Zinzan Brooke (although it fell 15 yards short, "it will have shaved the underside of the bar by the time I get home," he'd said), or the fact that no-one in the Gabba batted an eyelid when he did so.

Wood was Martin Johnson 's chief rival for the captaincy in 2001, and despite losing out to the Englishman remained a central influence on the team's fortunes and morale. Significantly, he was given the honour of skippering the side on its first outing, against Western Australia in Perth.