Paul O'Connell has watched the unmissable 1997 'Living With Lions' video many times.

And the 2009 British and Irish Lions captain is now on a mission to see his tourists repeat those heroic achievements.

"You know you are part of a marvellous tradition, but it is important to focus on the here and now," he said.

The Lions were written off when they visited South Africa 12 years ago, but victories over the Springboks in Cape Town and Durban secured a stunning Test series triumph.

South Africa will go into battle with the Lions next month as reigning world champions - the same position they held in 1997 - which confirms a huge degree of difficulty facing O'Connell and company.

O'Connell added: "When your tour is done, you hope you have filled the Lions jersey, done it justice and gone the whole mile for it.

"I played in South Africa for Irish Colleges in 1999, and I will never forget how big their players were, how fast and how skilful.

"Nothing had changed by the time I returned with Ireland five years later. They have a fiery passion about their rugby.

"I've won the Heineken Cup with Munster, and with Ireland we've ended a 61-year wait for a Grand Slam.

"You celebrate, you cut loose for a bit, then you ask yourself 'that was great, but what's next up the ladder? What's the next challenge up there?' The answer for everyone here is being here."