LIONS legend Jeremy Guscott has hailed Taulupe Faletau as his man of the drawn series against the All Blacks – and declared there is even more to come from the number eight from Pontypool.

The 26-year-old former Dragons back row forward started in all three Tests against New Zealand in the absence of his injured 'cousin' Billy Vunipola.

Faletau scored a try in the second Test win in Wellington and was to the fore in the dramatic final Test draw in Auckland that saw the British and Irish Lions share the series with the world champions.

Statistics provided by Opta revealed that no forward made more tackles (76), metres (173), breaks (4) or beat more defenders (14) than the Welshman on the tour.

Faletau, who left Rodney Parade for Bath last summer, showed his class after an injury-plagued season that saw him have to settle for a place on the Wales bench behind the trio of Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty.

And former England centre Guscott, who slotted the drop goal to clinch a series win for the Lions in South Africa in 1997 after playing three Tests against the All Blacks in 1993 and two to help down the Australians in 1989, believes Faletau was the pick of Warren Gatland's squad.

"Jonathan Davies was very good and was the Lions players' man of the series but for me the best player in a red shirt was Taulupe Faletau," he wrote for the BBC.

"The Wales number eight was so consistent, and I believe there's even more to come. He's a phenomenal athlete with a fantastic engine, which allows him to always play for 80 minutes in both defence and attack.

"I'd still like to see more of him carrying in the wider channels, but he was my man of series.

"Rugby is such a squad game it's a shame you have to pick individuals but Taulupe is a bit of an unsung hero and his work-rate and ability mean he made a massive contribution."

Guscott, a classy centre himself, was also full of praise for Davies, who carried his PRO 12 title-winning form with the Scarlets onto the biggest stage.

"He made some great breaks, he was solid in defence without being headline-making," said the former Bath man.

"He assumed the role of carrying to the gainline in the second and third Tests, came up with a couple of good relieving kicks and played well all round."

Pontypool-raised prop Mako Vunipola responded after an ill-disciplined second Test outing to play his part in the Auckland draw with some telling contributions in the loose.