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The British & Irish Lions are historic in name, but losers by nature
By Ben Smith
The British & Irish Lions return to Test rugby with expectations of becoming the greatest Lions team in history, with the first 3-0 series win ‘on offer’ in Australia.
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A 3-0 result over the Wallabies has been described as ‘bad for rugby’ in some corners, with suggestions that Australia should be tossed from the rotation in favour of stronger opposition, should the sweep eventuate.
Bizarrely, success in this vein for the Lions is viewed as a negative with need for an antidote. Pick a stronger opponent like France and return them to their losing ways. It’s an odd desire.
Perhaps this resistance is because the Lions are historical losers. The identity is not tied to winning. Their all-time win percentage is below 50 per cent. A measly 17 per cent against New Zealand and a subpar 36.7 per cent against South Africa. It’s even worse when counting just the Test matches.
It’s uncharted territory for the British & Irish Lions to be considered ‘winners’. But perhaps this is what the growing superpower needs to become.
Should the Lions break the ceiling with an all-conquering Walla-wash there will be an increased desire to see more of them. Becoming No.1 in any sport comes with more demand.
A 3-0 result doesn’t hand the rights to No.1 to the Lions, but it moves talk in that direction. It adds weight to Europe’s growing power in the game that is shifting from the south to the north. A title-winner fighter always finds more demand for a bout.
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Locked into a four-year cycle, the scarcity of a Lions tour adds to the allure and prestige of the blood red jersey. But rugby is in need of box office events that fill the coffers and grow audience and the British & Irish Lions are perhaps the game’s most under-utilised brand. They control the biggest and most valuable audience, and more of the Lions would clearly be commercially successful.
Why couldn’t the British & Irish Lions complete a test series in France in the November window? Or take on each of the Rugby Championship sides in the Autumn? The British & Irish Lions hosting the All Blacks at Wembley one week and the Springboks at Croke Park the next.
Completing two tours in a Rugby World Cup cycle, in the year after a World Cup and the year before the next, while taking also taking a stake in the November calendar just once in the cycle in the middle, would increase the Lions visibility by 200% and dominate the years between.
New Zealand, Australia and South Africa wouldn’t see any more inbound tours than they currently do, more destinations would get the chance to host, while the old superpowers would get the odd one-off blockbuster on away soil in Europe.
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Would it dilute the British & Irish Lions? We don’t really know because an increase in supply has never been tested. If they were able to assemble a winning superteam that conquered all, logic suggests the demand would be there.
It all depends on whether the Lions complete the transformation from a bunch of losers who have fun on the road into the world’s best rugby team. In reality this transition has been underway since 2009, but the 3-0 result would suggest it has been. If they are the world’s best rugby team, there will be no shortage of suitors lining up to play.
The Lions have broken free from the trappings of invitational sides that can’t handle the highest level of the game. The Barbarians were smoked by the Springboks and the AUNZ team were flattened. Those concept of getting random players together a week before the game seem dead, but the Lions have proven to be a high performance unit bucking that.
With rugby struggling to make a significant splash outside of Rugby World Cups, making more of the most prestigious team in the game is worth considering.
If the Lions complete a 3-0 sweep of the Wallabies, it has to be on the table.
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