The British and Irish Lions have taken a step further. A first ‘engagement‘ day took place in the company of – among many others – Emily Scarratt, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Rachel Malcolm and Sam Monaghan representing the four nations. Will any of them be selected?!
It just seems a pity that they can’t be called by their proper name (B&I). Instead they have to carry the name of a main sponsor, so it’s the Howden Lions Women who will tour New Zealand in 2027. And, to be fair, it was the @RoyalLondon Lions Women Engagement Day.
It will be fascinating to see whether this new brand will capture the imagination of Kiwi crowds the way the men’s tours have always done. It has proved a hard slog attracting rugby lovers to women’s matches there. It’s all the more important since New Zealand is the only one of the three traditional opponents of the men’s team to be able to offer the strength and breadth of opposition needed.
Australia and South Africa don’t have anything like the same sort of national clout in the women’s sector as the men’s. So, as thing stand at present, instead of a 12-year rotation (Oz-SA-NZ) it would have to be NZ only. The tradition has always been for the touring side to alternate test matches with provincial or other representative sides; perfectly possible in NZ, the four Aupiki franchises come readily to mind. But not so in the other southern hemisphere nations.
Then the question comes: how frequently? When news first broke of a possible Lions’ tour five years ago, the global calendar was a mite simpler than it is now. WXV is an annual affair; it would be a crying shame if it had to take a back seat while the Lions and Black Ferns were given preferential treatment.
Take your pick
You have plenty of chances to adjust the selection of your elite squad; you started jotting down names in 2019, remember? The tour still lies far ahead. So after the Six Nations of 2025 and 2026 (even 2027 if the calendar fits), you have a chance to change your mind. Emily Scarratt, for example, would be 37 by the time the scarlet jersey came her way again. You might well find a player demanding inclusion who has not yet been capped by her home nation.
A final sensitive issue: who will be given the honour of leading the squad as manager and head coach? Women are being squeezed out of these positions of authority on a regular basis. One 6N national head coach has already thrown his hat into the ring, and they are all male, unless the WRU eventually decides otherwise.
