In 1906, a statistician called Francis Galton went to a country fair in Plymouth. There he saw a competition. Visitors paid six pence at time to guess the weight of a cow.

What has Galton got to do with Gatland?

Well, this week more than 14,000 BBC Sport users have submitted their British and Irish Lions XVs to face South Africa in the first Test.

Could they get as close to the British and Irish Lions strongest line-up as the coach himself?

This is who the wise crowd of BBC Sport users believe should be lining up in red in Johannesburg on 24 July.

15 - Stuart Hogg

The Scotland captain is the stand-out pick at full-back with more than 82% of the vote. Wales' Liam Williams, who started at 15 in all three Tests in the 2017 tour of New Zealand after an injury to Hogg, is a distant second with 12% of the vote.

14 - Louis Rees-Zammit

Wales' 20-year-old sensation takes the first wing berth by a distance with 46% of the vote. England pair Anthony Watson (20%) and Jonny May (9%) are second and third in the running.

13- George North

Controversial one this. Wales' North, who only shifted into midfield from the wing at the end of last year, gets a narrow nod (26%) over team-mate and 2017 Lions player of the series Jonathan Davies (23%).

12 - Robbie Henshaw

Ireland's Henshaw has been consistently excellent in this year's Six Nations and, at 40% of the vote, is well clear of Davies (20%) and England's Owen Farrell (13%).

11 - Anthony Watson

Rees-Zammit led the way on the left wing with 23% of the vote, while May and Watson both recorded 20%. With Rees-Zammit already in the XV on the right wing, Watson edges out his England team-mate on a tie-breaker thanks to a greater share of the vote for the 14 shirt.

10 - Johnny Sexton

A real split that could define the team's style. Scotland's livewire 10 Finn Russell collected 38% of the vote, but 43% preferred to stick with tried and trusted Irishman Johnny Sexton, whose return to the team in New Zealand coincided with a fightback to draw the series.

9 - Conor Murray

Combinations could be key to get the Lions up and running fast. And BBC Sport users have united Ireland's half-backs with Murray picking up 52% of the vote, ahead of Wales' Gareth Davies (18%) and England's Ben Youngs (11%).

1 - Wyn Jones

Wales' in-form loose-head gets a big vote of confidence with inclusion in 39% of teams. Ireland's Cian Healy is second with 26% of the vote, while England's Mako Vunipola, who started all three Tests in 2017, is down on 15%.

2 - Ken Owens

Could Wales hooker Owens make his first Lions Test start at the age of 34? A significant 60% of BBC Sport users say so, picking him ahead of 2017 first-choice Jamie George (17%) and George's England team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie (14%).

3 - Tadhg Furlong

One member of the 2017 front row who does keep their place is Tadhg Furlong. The Irishman only returned to Test action after a year out in February, but has looked as agile and powerful as ever. He gets a whopping 80% of the vote with England's Kyle Sinckler (11%) and Scotland's Zander Fagerson (4%) his closest competition.

4 - Alun Wyn Jones

Wales' captain and talisman gets a last Lions dance at 35. Jones has appeared in all three Tests on the last three Lions tours. He gets 44% of the vote at four, ahead of England's Maro Itoje (32%) and Ireland's James Ryan (10%).

5 - Maro Itoje

A key man in 2017, Itoje overcomes England's indifferent campaign to take his place with 37% of the vote. Alun Wyn Jones (28%), James Ryan (16%), Ireland's Iain Henderson (10%) and Scotland's Jonny Gray (5%) are in his wake.

6 - Tadhg Beirne

A rich run of form has catapulted Tadhg Beirne into the back row. The Ireland man pilfered 10 turnovers during the Six Nations - more than any other player - and also offers a useful line-out option. He takes 33% of the vote at blind-side ahead of England's Tom Curry (14%), Scotland's Hamish Watson (13%), team-mate CJ Stander (13%) and Wales' Josh Navidi (10%).

7 - Tom Curry

Curry, still only 22, gets a call-up for his first Lions cap at open-side. The England man is the seven pick for 28% users with Scotland's Hamish Watson (23%) and Wales' Justin Tipuric (20%) offering stiff competition.

8 - Taulupe Faletau

Not much argument here as Wales number eight Faletau, an ever-present in the 2017 Test line-ups, is the pick once again. He picks up 64% of the vote ahead of CJ Stander on 13% and Exeter's Sam Simmonds, without an England cap in three years, on 8%. England's first-choice number eight Billy Vunipola makes 7% of selections.