Keith Wood suggests 4th tour option can save the Lions from 'shame of shames'
Keith Wood believes it would be the “shame of shames” if the British and Irish Lions are severely damaged by the serious problems facing this year’s tour to South Africa, the former Ireland skipper instead claiming that delaying the Test series for four years may be the best option.
At present, there are three possible scenarios due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic – proceed with the scheduled July tour to South Africa without fans, stage a Test series in Britain and Ireland, or move the tour to Australia.
The Lions board is scheduled to announce its decision midway through February having consulted the various stakeholders, but for the Lions to delay their South African tour until 2025 would require Australia to agree to put back their tour by four years.
A member of the series-winning 1997 Lions tour to South Africa, Wood told RugbyPass: “Because of the extraordinary problems this year a Lions tour may become a pale version of what it normally is and that may be the least worst option. I cannot see it in South Africa with all the travelling and the need for bubbles.
“The Australian option seems fraught with complication, quarantine and potential player welfare issues. It also has a different time zone and the commercial contracts will be impacted. There is nothing easy in any of this.
ICYMI: The skipper of the famed 1974 British and Irish Lions recently wrote a no-holds barred introduction to a compelling new book that counts the costs of professionalism in rugby ?https://t.co/aSJ2Fm7eOi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 29, 2020
“We could end up with something in Britain and Ireland and people will say it’s not the Lions, but it may be the most viable option this year. In truth, I believe the Lions needs supporters at the games and if this is not possible it may require delaying the cycle for four years.”
A 2001 Lions tourist to Australia, Wood is acutely aware of the ramifications of delaying the tour until 2025, but his strong family ties – his father Gordon was also a Lion – makes saving the most famous touring team for future players absolutely crucial.
He added: “There is heart and head here. The Lions is commercially one of the big brands in rugby and emotionally it brings together supporters from four countries which is unique in international sport and you want to preserve that.
“However, the Lions is being consistently squeezed and my fear is that if it goes too far from what is a touring side with 30,000 fans to games at home with no fans, will it keep its special place in rugby’s hearts?
“And if the Lions loses its allure that would be the shame of shames. It could be better to say, ‘Let’s delay the Lions cycle by four years with the tour to South Africa taking place in 2025 and push everyone back and preserve what is an incredible spectacle’.
“I don’t think you can put the tour into another year because that would drive the unions mad, the clubs mad while changing World Cup preparation cycles.
“My father went on the Lions tour in 1959 and it was four months playing Canada on the way and Australia and touring New Zealand, so not every Lions tour has to be identical. I like innovative thinking and I don’t dismiss things out of hand, but we are living in unprecedented times and have to think differently.
“When you talk about the tour you put in so many caveats because we don’t have all the information on how Covid-19 is changing and how different countries are adapting its laws to deal with the crisis.
“I hope the guys sitting in the room weighing it up with the lawyers and the commercial people are able to say there is a justification to play the tour this year safely, while also protecting the future of Lions tours. That is a near-impossible decision to make.”
'The data gives you a highlight and an indication but sometimes you still need that gut feel and the best thing is to just watch a player or be there'@heagneyl ???caught up with Ian McGeechan earlier this year #ICYMI https://t.co/Q7hrZTI9TG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 31, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
5 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to comments