The Lions That Failed To Roar - Again
28/06/09 21:59 Filed in: Sport
Yesterday’s failure
by the British and Irish Lions to close out the
second test, having led for most of the match,
handed the series to South Africa. They will play
the third test next Saturday for pride alone.
Should they lose, it will be the second series
whitewash in a row for Britain and Ireland’s elite.
If this happens, then surely there will have to be
a major reassessment of how future Lions tours are
undertaken.
As it stands, the host union holds all the trump cards. They are playing at home, are an established side with players all well used to one another, and are in the middle of their season. In contrast, the Lions play every Test match away, have only six weeks or so to gel together as a team, and are at the end of their season. This is where the problems lie.
Rugby is a team game, with each player having a defined role. Successful teams are those which have an established core of players with plenty of experience playing alongside one another. Some of these players may be better players than others, but in the end the team should be more than just the sum of its parts. It takes more than just a talented squad of players and a top class coaching outfit to create a Test-standard team from scratch. And it certainly takes more than six weeks to achieve it. It’s not just the fact that they have to play one of the Tri-Nations teams each tour. You could try the same experiment with an equivalent squad from the Southern Hemisphere and they would have a hard time beating the best teams in Europe in Dublin, Paris, London or Cardiff.
When the Lions get on the plane to cross the equator every four years, they will have just finished a gruelling season. The Magners League, Guinness Premiership and the Six Nations will all have taken their toll. Chances are they have had to peak twice in the course of the season already, for club/province and country. And now, when they should be thinking about heading off on their summer holidays, they have to peak once more as they face one of the top three Test sides in the world. Let’s face it, they’re knackered! Look at how many of the squad have picked up injuries so far. There is only so much punishment the human body can take, even elite athletes such as the Lions players. Summer tours should be for development sides and emerging players, not high-octane, full-on Test matches played by top players with 35-odd matches under their belts that season.
The last Lions Tour win was in 1997 in South Africa. Professionalism was in its early days, and the game was very different to what it is now. Looking at the way things are going, that feat is highly unlikely to be repeated any time soon. As I said back in 2005, the IRFU should have a long, hard think about its participation in future tours. Our pool of world-class players is just too small to risk them being injured.
As it stands, the host union holds all the trump cards. They are playing at home, are an established side with players all well used to one another, and are in the middle of their season. In contrast, the Lions play every Test match away, have only six weeks or so to gel together as a team, and are at the end of their season. This is where the problems lie.
Rugby is a team game, with each player having a defined role. Successful teams are those which have an established core of players with plenty of experience playing alongside one another. Some of these players may be better players than others, but in the end the team should be more than just the sum of its parts. It takes more than just a talented squad of players and a top class coaching outfit to create a Test-standard team from scratch. And it certainly takes more than six weeks to achieve it. It’s not just the fact that they have to play one of the Tri-Nations teams each tour. You could try the same experiment with an equivalent squad from the Southern Hemisphere and they would have a hard time beating the best teams in Europe in Dublin, Paris, London or Cardiff.
When the Lions get on the plane to cross the equator every four years, they will have just finished a gruelling season. The Magners League, Guinness Premiership and the Six Nations will all have taken their toll. Chances are they have had to peak twice in the course of the season already, for club/province and country. And now, when they should be thinking about heading off on their summer holidays, they have to peak once more as they face one of the top three Test sides in the world. Let’s face it, they’re knackered! Look at how many of the squad have picked up injuries so far. There is only so much punishment the human body can take, even elite athletes such as the Lions players. Summer tours should be for development sides and emerging players, not high-octane, full-on Test matches played by top players with 35-odd matches under their belts that season.
The last Lions Tour win was in 1997 in South Africa. Professionalism was in its early days, and the game was very different to what it is now. Looking at the way things are going, that feat is highly unlikely to be repeated any time soon. As I said back in 2005, the IRFU should have a long, hard think about its participation in future tours. Our pool of world-class players is just too small to risk them being injured.