On the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013, Welsh back-row Dan Lydiate was at the peak of his chop-tackling powers.
Aged 25, the uncompromising flanker played in all three Tests, featuring for the full 80 minutes in the second and third clashes as part of a thrilling 2-1 series victory over the Wallabies – a first Lions success for 16 years.
The ultimate stage for a professional in rugby union, less than six years earlier a 19-year-old Lydiate lay prone on the Stade Aime Giral turf in Perpignan in October 2007 having broken his neck and lost feeling in both his legs.
Life-threatening, not to mind career-threatening, the Welshman ruptured all six major ligaments in his neck, fractured vertebra and crushed a disc at the top of his spine, all of which caused temporary paralysis for a fully conscious Lydiate.
A four-hour emergency surgery followed as a plate and bone graft from his hip were inserted to piece him back together.
Having suffered a horrific neck injury in late 2007, Lydiate miraculously battled back to return for the Dragons and played for Wales less than two years later
Without a beat, he names it as the “biggest low point” of a now 18-year professional career. From being told he may never walk again, Lydiate miraculously recovered to make his Wales Test debut in 2009, going on to achieve a Six Nations Grand Slam as player of the tournament in 2012 and Lions recognition a year later.
“It was very scary,” Lydiate tells Sky Sports. “I didn’t know how I was going to function afterwards or how I was going to be functionally.
“I’ve played rugby for a long time now and had a lot of injuries, and even though it’s been hard with big ones, it always takes me back to that place when I was a scared 19-year-old in a French hospital with a broken neck.
“I’ve always thought: ‘It will never be as bad as that.’
“Each injury instilled in me a resilience and built my character, that hard-working graft. I’d only just come into professional rugby and had a handful of games. I had that taste in my mouth and fire in my belly to try and get back to that.
“Once I had this amazing surgery, the medical care was unbelievable. It was hard, a very long process in terms of recovery, but once they said I’d be okay to play again I flipped my focus. It’s a rollercoaster as you have good days and bad.
“When I got back and had my first Wales cap, I came off the bench against Argentina. If you only play a certain number of minutes, you do fitness after the game on the pitch and it’s always really tough. I was doing it with a smile on my face because of everything I’d been through.
“It was massive for me. All the tough times had been worth it. To go from the pit of despair to doing something I always wanted.”
Lydiate was named player of the tournament in 2012 as Wales won a Six Nations Grand Slam
Brought up on a 500-acre sheep farm in the Cambrian Mountains, Lydiate admits his family was far from sporty growing up in Llandrindod Wells – a place he describes as “not a massive rugby area.”
A career donning a Lions jersey wasn’t close to his mind as a child, having only been introduced to rugby once his brother started to play and Lydiate was told by his mother to jump in the car and tag along to training.
Taking a chance on the oval ball proved a masterstroke for the mid-Walian, who by 2013 was stood around a car radio with Dragons team-mates listening to a startling Lions squad announcement.
“We’d just finished training, driven back to Rodney Parade and pulled up in the car park where one of the boys had it on his radio.
“We were all stood around listening to the names. Taulupe Faletau was called out, so all the boys were hugging him. Then I got named as well.
“It was a real old school moment because you find out when everyone else does. There’s no heads up.
“I broke my ankle at the start of 2012/13 so missed the majority of that season and didn’t think I was going to get selected for that tour at all.
“It was an incredible period in my life where I was probably at my peak, but didn’t realise I was. The heartache of the 2011 World Cup semi-final but then winning a Grand Slam in the 2012 Six Nations was brilliant.
Lydiate recalls finding out he had been selected for the 2013 Lions tour to Australia via a teammate’s car radio
“I was at the Ospreys in 2017 and we were all in a room watching Sky Sports News. A few lads had to leave because there was too much pressure. It’s the excitement but also fear of not going on tour if you think you’re in contention.
“It’s the pinnacle. You grow up and want to play for your country – which is special – but to be picked for a Lions tour, the best of the best from four nations, it’s like our Olympics. It’s unique.
“You have hope during your career, and that’s what everyone sets their sights on. It’s definitely at the top for me.”
We take a look at some of the best moments from the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour in Australia as we look ahead to the 2025 tour which be live on Sky Sports
Lions midweek captain? In my head I wasn’t ready
Once in Australia, Lydiate played in four of the six tour games prior to the Tests, starting twice.
With Lions captain Sam Warburton, England’s Tom Croft and Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip named the starting back-row for the first Test in Brisbane, Lydiate was competing with the quality of Sean O’Brien, Justin Tipuric and Faletau for one bench spot.
It was a spot he freely admits he “did not expect” to be given, but one he received nonetheless, replacing Croft for the final eight minutes as the Lions hung on for a 23-21 victory.
Just three days later the Lions faced the Melbourne Rebels in their final tour match, with Lydiate left surprised again in being named captain.
It was an honour that he reveals brought up huge internal doubts, but one he just couldn’t say no to, with the 2013 tour documentary displaying Lydiate’s raw emotion in his team talk before the players left the dressing room prior to an eventual 35-0 success.
“I was hyped up on adrenaline. Paul O’Connell broke his arm in the first Test and Geoff Parling was meant to captain the side midweek, but he was then drafted in to start the second Test.
“Gats just said to me: ‘Do you want to captain this game?’ At the time, in my head I was like: ‘I’m not ready for this,’ but I knew if I turned it down I’d always regret not saying yes. It was completely out of my comfort zone.
Lydiate captained the Lions against the Melbourne Rebels in-between Tests one and two in 2013
“I remember doing the captain’s run and looking around the squad: Sean O’Brien, Manu Tuilagi, a young Owen Farrell, and I thought: ‘This squad is unbelievable. It’s a nice one to be captain of.’ It filled me with confidence.
“I was revved up. For a lot of us it was the last opportunity to play for the Lions or try put a hand up to sneak in for selection. It was an amazing night.”
For most players involved in the final midweek clash of a Lions tour, Test chances appear remote.
Lydiate impressed the coaching staff to such an extent, though, he was put in to start for the second Test four days later in a one-point defeat, and held on to the No 6 jersey again for the third-Test decider.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to play for the rest of the tour. To go on and be selected for that second Test, it was a busy week and a sore body but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was just over the moon.
“Leading into the last Test, there was a lot of pressure, but what I remember most is trying to focus on the game during the warm-up as Men at Work were in the middle of the field playing their song Down Under. I stood for 30 seconds in Sydney thinking: ‘This is nuts.’
“We went on to win that Test and in the changing rooms Daniel Craig – James Bond – was there, just in the corner with loads of champagne for the boys. Crazy.
Lydiate forced his way into the starting Test team vs the Wallabies for both the second and third Tests, playing every minute
“I remember sitting down after and thinking: ‘I’ve done it.’ You keep your goals to yourself but I almost gave myself a little pat on the back.
“Rugby moved on after that and when you’re in it, you don’t get a chance to savour it.
“I got sent the Lions DVD and watched it one night with my missus and I was like: ‘Wow, I was part of that.’ It sunk in. You really don’t appreciate it when you’re laser-focused on trying to get in that Test team.”
‘Take a step back and try and realise what a special club you’re part of’
In the seasons leading up to the next two Lions tours to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021, Lydiate suffered ACL injuries to both knees.
The first occurred to his left in November 2016 against South Africa, ruling him out until the next September, while the second happened against Ireland during the opening week of a COVID-impacted 2021 Six Nations behind closed doors at the Principality, ruling him out for over a year until the following February.
In all, Lydiate has undergone 14 operations during his rugby career, but still managed to battle back each time to keep playing now at the age of 37. How?
“I don’t know how I’ve come back each time. I’ve always wanted to finish playing knowing I gave everything to the cause.
Lydiate ruptured the ACLs in both his knees prior to the next two Lions tours in 2017 and 2021
“I’m lucky enough to have 72 caps for Wales, but I think: ‘Could I have had more? Could I have pushed to 100?’ Through injuries, I’ll never know, but I can rest easy knowing it wasn’t down to a lack of effort.
“It’s ifs and buts. If I hadn’t been injured in 2017 and 2021, would I have gone on another Lions tour? Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe my form wouldn’t have been good enough to be picked. I can’t say.
“I’m just grateful I was able to go on that successful tour after 16 years of the Lions not winning. It’s special.
“A few times during my career, I’ve had people write me off, so it’s that stubbornness trying to prove people wrong and to myself that I can do it.
“It hasn’t been easy, professional rugby is not for the faint-hearted. It’s tough on the mind, body and soul.
“I must love it to carry on doing it for as long as I have. When I finally hang up the boots, I’ll know all I could give was the best version of me.”
Lydiate earned 72 caps for Wales during his international career despite a catalogue of injuries
The unexpected passing of Lydiate’s father in November 2022 hit him hard, and having romanticised about a career in farming all his life, he is currently stretched to breaking point between his professional career, coaching, raising three young children and farming.
“It’s challenging. I’m lucky my mother and brother are still on the farm, and we’ve got a worker as well. Farming is a massive passion of mine outside rugby.
“On my days off I try to get up there, but I’m often managing my business from afar. It’s impossible at times and you feel like you dilute yourself a lot, with having a young family too.
“It feels like I’m spinning a lot of plates a lot of the time, but I know this is for a short period. Life after rugby is always going to be down the farming track. It’s difficult to manage but I’m trying my best to keep my head afloat.”
Time has flown in the 12 years since Lydiate proved a Lions star in Australia, and for the tourists who get the chance to face the Wallabies this time, Lydiate – as so many previous Lions have echoed – encourages the class of 2025 to banish nerves, pressure and stress for joy.
“My only advice would be to take stock while you’re there and try to enjoy it. You put a lot of pressure on yourselves as players, but sometimes you need to take a step back, which is harder than it sounds.
“Just realise where you are and what a special club you’re part of and involved in. It’s once every four years and for young players, they may get a chance to go again but you never know, it may be their only chance like it was for me.
“Try and savour the moment. The sea of red, it’s unbelievable.”
