Niamh Briggs is the first among Celtic voices to offer an opinion about the coming Lions tour.
Needess to say, she was highly confident of Irish players making the trip. So are we all. What we don’t know is how large the squad will need to be: that depends entirely on the length and scope of the tour.
Nor was it a surprise to hear her say she would be only too happy to lead the tour, should the B&I Lions board offer her the chance. She had a distinguished career as a player herself, and has remained active on the coaching front and elsewhere in Irish rugby.
That brings us to the tricky problem of choosing the right person. I said in my previous piece on the topic (4theloveofsport.co.uk/2024/01/18/a-british-and-irish-womens-lions-tour-confirmed/) that there are many eminently qualified women who could do the job well. But given the reluctance recently of so many unions to allow a woman to take the helm of the national team (Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, USA and Wales, to name but seven), we can only hope that the Lions will go their own way.
Briggs has the advantage that she is not currently in charge of a team, she is an assistant to Scott Bemand. Others who come to mind tend to be DoRs of top clubs, especially in the PWR league. Would any of them be willing to take time off from their primary role and moonlight with the first ever Lions?
The answer might well be ‘Yes, please; my bags are already packed’. Or possibly not.
That’s another unknown that is difficult to predict; how far in advance would a squad need to assemble pre-tour? The board and management might think not very long. So many of the squad would know each other at national and club level. With the tour taking place in September, how far in advance would an ambitious DoR want to call her troops away to prepare?
The Black Ferns’ approach
New Zealanders will be delighted to see Lions coming to their shores again. The Ferns themselves need all the game-time they can find against worthy opposition. By 2027 of course, the results of the 2025 World Cup will be ancient history. Bookmakers are probably telling us that England are going to win it, even if they lose three players at once to yellow cards.
It appears that NZR put in a bid to host and it was accepted. Crucially, the NZ government offered at least $3.9 million to support the venture.
We should remember that all is not well in the Ferns’ camp. The game is under heavy threat from Rugby League, both at home and more menacingly in Australia. A double attraction of an RWC in England followed by a Lions tour might be enough to keep wavering players out of the grip of RL. And maybe NZR will have resolved the ongoing tug-of-war between the Sevens squad and the 15s.
There remains the troubling question of attendances. NZR really shouldn’t expect 30,000-odd fans to make the journey out from Europe as happens for the men’s team. There should be plenty of red visible in the crowds, but it’s up to the Kiwis themselves to ensure they don’t repeat the distinctly disappointing gates of 2022 (RWC) and 2023 (WXV1).
Other Ambassadors
Now both Elinor Snowsill and Nolli Waterman have expressed their views, very much in the role of promoters of the concept. Both mention the successes of Celtic players in the PWR. And yes, a tour of a minimum of five matches will certainly give them an excellent chance of finding favour.
We must bear constantly in mind the three-year gap between this announcement and the tour. In that time players will retire, youngsters will advance in leaps and bounds. The constant hope is that the effect of the gap in length of professionalism – England way ahead of its rivals – will decrease as the years pass.
My preference would be for the selection committee, whoever they may be, to ensure the presence of all four nations in the touring group. Anything else would be an avoidable stigma. They needn’t even make a public statement about their processes. Every player chosen would have plenty of plus marks to her name; her presence wouldn’t need defending.
The reverse of that coin is the inevitable omission of top-class players. The Red Roses currently number 34 contracted players plus six representing the coming generation. That group may well have developed into regular picks by 2027. The best of the Celtic players would need to be deemed better than many of those forty to gain a touring spot. It will be fascinating to see how the selection process rolls out.
The more central question is: how many Celts will make the test teams? It’s relatively unusual for women’s rugby to offer a three-match series, but WXV adopted the pattern last year. Coaches felt obliged to vary the starting XVs they chose. Would the same apply to a Lions tour? The Lions aren’t the same as the Barbarians, for whom the game is the thing, not the result.
If every capped English player were available for the first test, how many Celts could then find a place? I won’t ask for an answer. Depending on where your heart lies, I know what it will be.
And who else?
An underlying problem for the continued existence of the Lions is the lack of viable destinations beyond Aotearoa. The public can’t know the discussions that went on to assess the alternatives, but there can’t have been many; to my mind North America and France at best. World Rugby has set its heart on achieving a rugby revolution in the USA, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Even Ieuan Evans, Chair of the B&I Lions, admits: ‘Where the Lions tour goes next – there’s no fixed rota put in place.’
Dare I explain, that is because, in 2024, there is nowhere else they could possibly go! The pious hope is that by 2031 the USA would become a viable proposition. Or do I mean 2037 or 2041?
A trip to NZ every four years would only add to the sense of elitism I hinted at recently. WR is intent on spreading the game worldwide, and quite right too.
The good news is that a lot of water will pass under the bridge before 2027.
