What a richly rewarding few weeks it has been for the British & Irish Lions. Since their training camp in Portugal and pre-departure week in Ireland they have crisscrossed Australia and sampled the contrasting delights of Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. Winning the series was the squad’s primary objective but they have been actively encouraged to enjoy their time on tour, too.
A Lions expedition is not just about what happens on the field. Henry Pollock, Duhan van der Merwe and Josh van der Flier have been to the Great Barrier Reef while Pierre Schoeman has been writing poetry. Others have headed to the golf course or strolled the beaches of Bondi and Coogee with their families. The squad’s eight games in Australia to date have whizzed past but the players will still return home with plenty of non‑rugby memories.
At least there continue to be a few pockets of hope, with South Africa and New Zealand having agreed to resume hosting “proper” tours in each other’s countries. Next year the All Blacks are scheduled to head to South Africa for an eight-game trip including three Tests, marking the 30th anniversary of the last traditional tour between the two nations in 1996 when the All Blacks defeated the Springboks 2-1.
A reciprocal tour is planned in New Zealand in 2030 with both unions clearly keen to replicate the kind of model that continues to be so successful for the Lions. And with the Lions to travel to face the All Blacks in 2029 and, theoretically, South Africa in 2033 there is clearly still financial mileage in touring if the teams involved are sufficiently box office and the games suitably competitive.
Which is another reason why the match last Saturday was significant for Australia. Tim Horan, the great former Wallaby centre, called it “the most important Test match for the Wallabies since the 2015 World Cup final”, not just in terms of the result but the team’s ability to reconnect with the nation. Ultimately Australia did not get the result they wanted but clawed back a good deal of respect.
They now need to do the same again in Sydney to sidestep a dispiriting 3-0 clean sweep. A 2-1 outcome would unquestionably be a better bargaining chip when the time comes to start negotiating over whether the Lions will return to Australia in 2037 as per the existing tour rota.
That is because the other ingredient that makes touring special – besides the off-field fun and camaraderie – is the intensity of the midweek games. It was only in Melbourne in week five that any real matchday jeopardy emerged on this Lions tour, courtesy of the First Nations & Pasifika XV and then the Wallabies. There are plenty who believe France would offer a more compelling fixture list and a spectacular tour experience. Let us all pray, either way, that rugby tours of the future do not become glorified business trips.
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