As the British and Irish Lions prepare for their latest against all odds oddyssey to the southern hemisphere, what better time to relive the tour that eclipsed all others in terms of achievement and controversy. After their predecessors in 1971 had gained an historic first ever series win against the All Blacks in New Zealand, the 1974 Lions went one better. They took on and conquered the mighty Springboks of South Africa, returning from a 22 match series unbeaten.

In Undefeated - The Story of the 1974 Lions , Rhodri Davies not only brings the legendary 1971 tour to life, adding new perspective and insight, but he then proceeds to give the often unheralded 1974 Lions their historical due. With first hand contributions from Lions legends such as Willie John McBride, Fran Cotton, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, Andy Irvine and many more, the author captures the very essence of the greatest Lions of all time. The tour itself was brutal and scintillating in equal measure, but as well as contending with the fearsome on-field challenges the tourists also faced unprecedented political opposition both at home and abroad.

Should they have gone to apartheid South Africa at all? What exactly did they achieve by going? And how do they feel about it almost half a century later? Undefeated is a searingly honest reappraisal of the tour of '74 by the Lions legends who achieved the impossible. Their account is so compelling that 'Undefeated' was shortlisted for the British Rugby Book of the Year award on its first publication in 2014.

Here are "The Greatest Lions" - in their own words.

Undefeated - The Story of the 1974 Lions by Rhodri Davies is available now.