I never thought I would be writing these words, but if the Lions want to win the Test series against New Zealand then not only should Warren Gatland bring Mike Brown into his squad, he should put the England full-back straight into his team.

I have not always been Mike’s biggest fan. But if the Lions are going to implement Gatland’s game plan, which seems to be trying to win by stopping the All Blacks from playing, he is the only man for the job.

In Gatland’s style the primary job of the full-back is to catch every high ball, make every tackle and fight every man wearing a black shirt. If those are the criteria then Brown is a far better bet than Anthony Watson, Jared Payne or Liam Williams, the current front-runners for the job.

Payne must be carrying an injury, because he did not look himself in Tuesday’s loss to the Highlanders in Dunedin. Williams likes playing there but he makes two bad mistakes per game. You can get away with those on the wing, where it looks like he will play, but not with No 15 on your back.

Watson, who I think Gatland will pick, is a completely different type of player. He is a great attacking player who will make a few lovely breaks and take some excellent catches. But he is also a potential weak link defensively, and I think New Zealand will target him.