Why do the British & Irish Lions exist?

Plenty of debate about Warren Gatland reinforcing the British and Irish Lions squad from local touring sides Scotland and Wales, rather than on merit of playing ability. Debate about bias, devaluing the shirt, confidence of the squad, but in my opinion, it all goes much deeper than this.

What is the point of the Lions, in a professional sport?

Those that oversee the Lions really need to ask themselves that question.

I for one, am genuinely confused as to what the reason is, from the Home Unions point of view. I can see it clearly from the Southern Hemisphere’s viewpoint and especially New Zealand’s – it is all about winning!

This raft of reinforcements has just highlighted the flaws in the thinking surrounding this tour. Gatland has made the decision on logical, hard-nosed thinking, believing that players already in the time zone will be more effective than players flying in from the UK or other time zones who will require far longer to get up to speed.

Hard-nosed, logical thinking that gives the players the greatest chance of succeeding, which I completely agree with, and yet the very same thinking and approach that was not adhered to at the start of the tour, or the planning of the tour, or seemingly the focus of the tour……….

The first question; Who accepted the itinerary for this tour and when was it accepted.

Sadly, the answer is a very long time ago and I would suspect by men who have no concept of the professional game. It is the toughest tour New Zealand could deliver, and it has been accepted -  why? Out of ignorance? Out of a belief that it is character building? It was not accepted out of any thought process focused on success from a Lions perspective.

Second question; Why didn’t the main bulk of the squad fly down to New Zealand earlier, when their season had finished, giving them a chance to acclimatise? The finalists could have joined them later and missed the first game or two. Please tell me it was not because a sponsor’s farewell dinner had to be attended on the Sunday following the domestic finals? If it was, then there is a classic example of how wrong the priorities are of those who organised this schedule.

Third question; All the players from the home Unions are available for selection, why aren’t all the coaches? If the Home Unions are serious about the success of the Lions, surely their coaches would be available too?

Please do not misunderstand me, I hope that this squad and this tour win the series, my worry and frustration is that if they do, they will have achieved it despite the best efforts of those who have overseen this tour!

If the point of the Lions existence is to win, then so much must change. If the point of the Lions existence is to make money, then they will not exist for too much longer…

If the Lions are to thrive, let alone survive, the decision makers need to be changed. At the moment, the tour falls between the two worlds of old school amateurism and current professional thinking. The basic building blocks of the tour are accepted and run by amateur thinking, whilst the professional coaches then try to salvage the best results from it.

This is a powerful and talented group of players, of that there is no doubt. They deserve to have the best planning and thinking to prepare them for the toughest tour of their lives. The Lions should not be winning despite the planning, despite the confused priorities, despite the preparation. The focus of all involved with the Lions going forward needs to be about giving them the greatest chance of winning and hence the greatest chance of this Brand’s survival in the crowded and brutal world of professional rugby.