British and Irish Lions would lose 'mystique' if tours shortened, says Warren Gatland
Saturday 5 November 2016 12:32, UK
Warren Gatland has warned the “mystique” of the British and Irish Lions would be lost if the number of tour matches was cut from the current 10.
Gatland will lead the Lions to New Zealand next summer on what will be the last tour of the existing 12-year agreement with the SANZAR unions and there has been speculation future tours could be reduced to five matches to fit into a revised international fixture schedule.
Negotiations between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere are currently ongoing, but nothing has yet been agreed beyond the World Cup in Japan in 2019.
And Gatland believes protecting the future interests of the Lions must be a priority for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in those negotiations.
"Having been involved in this, I would hate to see the Lions die as an entity and not have the opportunity to prepare properly," he said. "I just think it is unique and it is special.
"I would like to think, between the four home unions and the clubs, we could protect it.
"We could plan for a Lions year and say, 'You have got the World Cup and then every two years after the World Cup the Lions comes around'. We could manufacture our games, or during the season we maybe have a midweek game.
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"It will be interesting to see how the next deal is structured because there was a 12-year deal done with SANZAR and potentially they are talking about putting together a joint revenue-sharing model.
"They have talked about potentially reducing the number of matches [but] I would hate to see it. The beauty of the Lions is that 10 matches is about right and I personally would hate to see the Lions going for five matches.
"You would lose the mystique of what the Lions is all about."
The challenge of fitting the Lions into the current overcrowded domestic and international fixture list is illustrated by the fact that Gatland's squad depart for New Zealand just two days after the Premiership and Pro 12 finals, and face their first game on the following Saturday.
However, instead of reducing the number of matches, Gatland would like to see future Lions touring parties afforded more time to adequately prepare.
"I did a report [in 2013] and the last thing I said was, 'I am wasting my time; I could have written this report in three words: preparation, preparation, preparation," Gatland said.
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"I think every report said exactly the same thing. I understand the pressures that the Lions and the board are under and there is a lot of external stuff from the clubs, PRL [Premiership Rugby], the unions and the different competitions about release of players and how long they are going to be off.
"That is all part of the next negotiations. Clubs do get compensated for the players coming away. Hopefully, when the next deal is done, the stakeholders will sit around the table and thrash out what will be the best thing."
