Tipuric crunching all the right numbers as

JUSTIN Tipuric once revealed: “As a kid I absolutely hated missing tackles.

“We could win a game by 40 points but I’d be gutted that I’d missed a tackle.”

It’s something that’s stuck with him.

Last autumn, the Lions’ official Twitter account asked the question: “Who’s the best defender the Lions have ever had?”

It’s something of a shock that you have to scroll down through 41 comments before someone offers the name of Tipuric.

He has never missed a single tackle in a Lions jersey: 107 hits attempted, every one of them nailed.

For those in any doubt, that’s a stat that deserves to be served up on a silver platter with a tasteful garnish.

Eleven games without missing a tackle against opponents not averse to throwing not just the kitchen sink at the Lions but the fridge freezer, the microwave oven and the automatic dishwasher as well. That’s good going by any standard.

Maybe it’s because he’s only featured in one Test over two tours that his efforts have tended to go under the radar compared with others – but not by some of those who’ve played alongside him.

Former Ireland captain Rory Best declared of Tipuric on a House of Rugby UK podcast: “I genuinely think he’s one of the best I’ve played with.”

And fellow Lion from 2017 James Haskell joked on the same show: “We wondered whether he did something to one of Gats’ relatives or something, because of the fact that he didn’t get more game-time. We asked him: “What have you done, mate?!

“Sam Warburton is a fantastic player but in any other team, he (Tipuric) would have started. All-round skillset, engine on him, ability over the ball and, just, overall how good he was.”

In fairness to Gatland, he grew to value Tipuric hugely when with Wales. It may have taken until Warburton retired for the Osprey to be a regular starter in the biggest games, but Tipuric played the house down for the New Zealander during 2018 and 2019.

Maybe his best performance came against Australia the autumn before the last World Cup when he emerged from a duel against David Pocock and Michael Hooper with three turnovers