'It had all blown-up': How stomping case coloured Lions epic

Few people understand the intensity, and emotional rollercoaster, of a British and Irish Lions tour better than James Horwill.

The former Wallabies captain still carries the scars of a 2013 series loss, which ranks as a career highlight and lowlight at the same time.

Not only was the big Queensland lock carrying the weight of a nation on his broad shoulders, but Horwill's character was placed under an extreme blowtorch after the first Test.

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The incident had largely gone unnoticed during the 23-21 Lions win in Brisbane, as Israel Folau scored two tries on Test debut and Kurtley Beale infamously slipped while attempting to kick the match-winning penalty.

But Horwill took a call on Sunday morning from Wallabies manager Bob Egerton, informing him he had been cited for potentially stomping Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones.

"There was so much media speculation around it because it had all blown up," Horwill recalled on Stan Sport's Between Two Posts Extra.

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"I had to then wait in like a little holding cell because all the cameras were outside the hotel, and they didn't want me to go out...

"I obviously did clip Alun Wyn Jones in the head. I had no idea I did it, it was a complete accident, and that was my defence.

"I'm not arguing the fact that he got stood on, he had a cut below his eye, that's what it was. I was just saying I had no idea and it was not intentional, it was a complete accident. I just turned off all social media... it was just a complete pile on and I just turned it all off."

Horwill was found not guilty - but then the International Rugby Board appealed their own decision.

He was free to play the second Test in Melbourne while the case dragged on.

"I'm thinking in my head, mate, I just need to get on with it because no matter what happens here, I'm likely not going to be playing the third," Horwill said.

This time it was Leigh Halfpenny who missed a last minute penalty as the Wallabies held on for a 16-15 victory and set up a series decider.

Horwill let out an almighty, guttural roar.

"That's the most emotional I've seen a Wallabies captain ever. It was just epic," Morgan Turinui said.

Horwill explained why.

"I got a bit emotional. In my own head, I thought that was it, my series is done, I'm done, we've got it to a decider which we wanted to," he said.

"I guess for me, leading that week, I'd probably internalised everything. I was really conscious about all the crap that was going on in the background, to not make that a storyline. Let the press talk about it and I'll deal with it.

"I'll shield the team from it, in my own space, in my own room of each night I'd go and deal with that but to the team, it was really important and publicly that no, we're business as usual, we're getting on with this, there's nothing wrong."

Horwill was eventually cleared to play in Sydney but the Lions ran away 41–16 winners with a Wales-heavy squad missing Brian O'Driscoll.

The pain lingers but so does the rugby experience of a lifetime.

"I think ultimately there's nothing like it in Test rugby," Horwill said.

"This is as intense a scrutiny you'll ever see from anyone. The Lions squad announcement, I read they had 200 press members turn up to the team announcement and captain's press conference.

"That gives you an idea of the enormity of what's coming. There is a lot riding on it and there is nowhere to hide... it's a big, big deal."