The likely reduction of tour matches for the trip to South Africa in 2021 sets a dangerous precedent and overlooks the impact Lions series have both at home and abroad
When Warren Gatland submits his report on the tied Lions series in New Zealand to the four home unions, he will repeat the plea made four years ago for more preparation time. Heads will nod in agreement but all that is set to change by 2021, when the Lions will be in South Africa, is that two matches are cut from the schedule to give the players and management an extra week together.
It would be, as the former Lions wing and manager Gerald Davies said, the death of the Lions by a thousand cuts. It is an irony that in an era when international coaches have greater access to their players than ever before, even in England and France, the two unions with strong club competitions, those in charge of the Lions are seeing less of theirs.
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