SENIOR FIGURES WITHIN English rugby union have hit out at the “ludicrous” fixture schedule for next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
The Lions traditionally go on tour every four years to one of the southern hemisphere giants of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Next year sees the Lions travel to New Zealand — where they have won just one Test series and that 45 years ago — with three internationals against the world champion All Blacks forming the centrepiece of a 10-match tour.
However, their first match takes place at the start of June just a week after the English Premiership and Celtic League finals.
In an age of ever-more gruelling seasons, there are widespread concerns that the Lions will have insufficient time to prepare and are being set up to fail, especially as the scratch team will face what is generally regarded as one of the best sides in New Zealand’s outstanding rugby history.
And with players in England contracted to their clubs, rather than the national unions, there are fears among Premiership chiefs that their star names will be in no fit state for the start of the 2017/18 season that follows the Lions tour.
“It is ludicrous they are playing 10 games,” Mark McCall, the director of rugby at Premiership and European champions Saracens told BBC Radio on Sunday.
“It’s going to be tough, and something that needs to be looked at,” added McCall, several of whose players are set to be selected for the Lions.”
The demands of the professional era of rugby union have seen the future of the Lions, who in 2013 ended a 16-year wait for a series win with a 2-1 success in Australia, repeatedly called into question.
- ‘Battered and knackered’ -
Next year, because of the fixture list, the Lions will have limited preparation time and will have to travel to New Zealand in two separate groups, with those taking part in domestic finals travelling to New Zealand in the week of the tour opener.
As far as leading British rugby writer Stephen Jones, the long-serving correspondent of the Sunday Times, is concerned, top players will have to head to New Zealand “battered, knackered, beaten up, carrying injury, begging to be injured again”.
He added: “Shamefully, neither league (Premiership and Celtic) will budge; the Lions committee, shamefully, will not insist.”
Meanwhile Dai Young, the boss of Premiership side Wasps and a former Lions prop, told the BBC: “I’m a big supporter of the Lions, it’s a fantastic thing which I was lucky enough to experience, and it’s something that should be kept on.
“But do they have to have 10 games? Could they start a week later? I know what it meant to me as a player, and I’m sure they can give New Zealand a run for their money,” he added.
“But if our players are lucky enough to go, what are we going to pick up at the end? Players are going to need a lot of patching up.”
The third and final Test against the All Blacks is on 8 July, when many Premiership clubs will be starting pre-season training ahead of the 2017/18 European season.
“It is going to be very difficult next year,” Premiership chief executive Mark McCafferty said in an interview with the Observer newspaper on Sunday.
“The Lions is in the mix as we move towards the season structure post-2019. It is a fabulous brand and an important part of the economics for the southern hemisphere.
“It should carry on but it is not sustainable that players can go through a club and international season, be involved in that scale of tour and then be in shape for the following season.”
5 years time and Mc Cafferty is Lions boss and they’ll have a 12 match schedule , he’s a hypocrite
McCafferty is a parasite and he’s raising this for selfish reasons most likely, but he is right. The last Lions caused serious injury problems for a lot of Irish players, and it’s putting even more pressure on players in a season that’s only getting longer.
Look at Leigh Halfpenny for example, a guy who will probably make the tour and has had a lot of injury issues.
Started his Top 14 season last week after two weeks of pre-season and if Toulon make the knockouts, will have a full schedule now until July at least.
I love the Lions, but player welfare isn’t being taken into account and that’s partly why we’ve so many early retirements.
Typical english always complaining about something
McCafferty has made a huge mess out of the ERC and now wants to do the same to the Lions.
It’s club before country again. Maybe they shoud have been more open t
Scrap all international rugby tests, we cant have the poor clubs mucked about like this….. Its club before country again, maybe they should have been more open to negotiations on the issue of an international season. (pls excuse errors my tablet is still dodgey)
Agree with you, Paul. 10 games in 5 weeks at the end of a long, tough season, not to mention the travelling, is ludicrous. The AB’s must be laughing up their sleeves!
Sick of the EPL spivs being able to mouth off like this, the RFU and IRB need to tell them to shut it.
Anything outside of the club game is entirely outside of their jurisdiction.
It’s time the Lions was abolished altogether. Aside from the antiquated political aspect and dreadful nuisance for elite players in an already crowded schedule, it’s simply ridiculous for NH teams to sacrifice a meaningful summer tour for some sort of fantasy style super team (which normally loses anyway)
Even from a supporters perspective it’s not enjoyable and most of the followers spend their time bickering over selection and only support the team if enough of their players are chosen by a head coach who’ll have an innate bias towards one of the nations already. I wouldn’t miss it at all.
It’s only a nuisance to players who chose to go , they are not required to play for the Lions.
The lions tours are as much about money as the premiership is . Player welfare is secondary to both organisations
A 3 match series , 2 away and 1 home might be a real money spinner
As a kid playing rugby it was my dream to play for the lions and I believe that most of today’s professional players have the same ambition . The lions are a fantastic institution and will remain so for a long time . It’s the pinnacle of NH rugby !
Totally agree, it’s a little farcical, I only support and want to watch players from Ireland I have no interest in those from britian like dylan hartley and to be perfectly honest If no Ireland/Irish players were playing I would definitely be cheering for the other side.
@ Peter it’s nothing of the sort today it’s a bit of a irrelevant side show hastily throwing together a team from two different EU countries. Sure let britian play if they wish Ireland is a different story we should have stopped participating a long long time ago It’s irrelevant to Ireland supporters unless there is Irish players in the pitch besides a excuse for a holiday for some.
What odds on Gatland’s Welsh Lions losing every game of the tour?
Might be worth a wee bet!
The more games the better the English players don’t have to be included until the test matches
Why bother they won’t win!