Donal Lenihan: The Lions test series against South Africa? There is a fourth option…

A Lions fan roars his support during the Australian tour in 2013. The Lions’ summer tour to South Africa should be postponed for a year, says our columnist. With Covid fears lingering, it just wouldn’t be the same. Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty

To tour or not to tour, that is the question. In fact, it’s just one of many questions facing the British and Irish Lions board as they contemplate just what to do with the proposed summer tour to South Africa.

In an ideal world the most logical decision would be to postpone the tour for a year to the same slot in 2022. That would be my preferred option as this tour, with South Africa as reigning world champions, is the biggest event international rugby has on the calendar between now and the knockout phase of the 2023 World Cup in France.

What makes the Lions so special is the unique nature of the contest, unveiled once every four years before being bubble wrapped, once again, at the height of its popularity. The regularity with which the big three from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia play against each other these days has made their fans long for a Lions series more than ever before. Remember, their players and fans only get to experience that once every 12 years.

In the midst of the current pandemic and the challenges presented on so many fronts, I harbour massive sympathy for the Lions board in their dealings with a number of conflicting parties, not least those sitting around their own table.

If they decide to proceed with a tour in whatever format — a final decision on that will be taken this month — it will be a poor imitation of the real thing, rolled out in some diluted format in order to fulfil financial obligations. Surely Lions tours have become far too big and important for the game to be reduced to a box-ticking exercise?

It will also change the rules of engagement. There is a reason why a Lions series is so hard to win. The enormous difficulty in the challenge is what makes it so compelling. Not only are you taking on a top-quality southern hemisphere giant in their back garden but, in New Zealand and South Africa in particular, you are taking on an entire rugby obsessed nation.

Even in Australia, with its diverse array of professional sports, if the tide is turning against them then you can be sure that accusations of foul play, cheating, or some other claims will be peddled in an orchestrated media drive, led by former players and officials, pointing out all the perceived ills of the tourists.

It’s different in New Zealand in that nothing needs to be fabricated. The general public, without any prompting from those in rugby authority, usually waste no time in telling you how shite you are to your face. I can recall one elderly lady telling Ollie Campbell how he could improve his kicking technique. Scary thing is, she might have had a point.

The pressure to perform is all-consuming. It’s you against the world, even if the vast hordes of travelling Lions supporters that have become part and parcel of the experience since the advent of professionalism helps to reinforce what you’re fighting for in the first place.

A Lions tour staged in South Africa, in empty stadia, next July and August seems utterly pointless. It defeats the purpose of touring in the first place. The frenzied support, manic physicality and raw emotion that I experienced first hand, either from the coaches box at the first test against the Wallabies in Brisbane in 2001 or from the commentary box at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria for the second test against the Springboks in 2009, are special rugby occasions that will live with me forever.

The problem facing the Lions board right now is that their hands appear tied tight behind their backs by not being able to postpone the trek until July 2022. We are being told this is a non-runner as all the home nations have intense three test tours of their own that summer, something their respective coaches deem a pivotal part of their preparations for the World Cup the following year.

From an Irish perspective, Andy Farrell feels he will learn more by bringing 30 Irish players on a three-test series against New Zealand than by having his best players spending the summer with their Scottish counterparts just over a year out from their World Cup Pool B game against Gregor Townsend’s men at the Stade de France.

England have a similar tour to Australia and Wales to South Africa which provides a major complication. The difficulty for the Lions is that the CEOs of the four home unions sit on their board and are clearly conflicted when it comes to making the best decision from a Lions perspective. Their priority has to rest with what is best for their own national squad. The bottom line in this complicated dilemma is that the final decision will be driven by money and how the four home unions, under the collective umbrella of the Lions, can fulfil their financial obligations to the host union down under who not only rely heavily on that massive pay day to keep them above water but can only budget for that massive windfall once every twelve years.

The 2013 Lions tour enabled the ARU remain solvent while this year’s scheduled trip to South Africa is of equal financial importance to their union given the Springboks haven’t played a single test match since winning the World Cup in November 2019.

Remember the big reason the likes of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia keep touring here every November and packing out Murrayfield, the Aviva, Principality and Twickenham, where each union earn several million euros more than what New Zealand would pocket by hosting Ireland, is the promise of that massive Lions pay day every 12 years.

It is why the four home unions must find a way to fulfil their financial obligations to South Africa at a time when they need it most. Make no mistake, rugby is the secondary issue here and that makes me nervous about what direction this great Lions journey is about to take.

Apart from playing behind closed doors in South Africa this summer, two other options are up for consideration. There is an offer on the table from the Australian union to host the tour and provide some form of financial guarantee from their government. That needs to be resisted.

While there is a large community of British, Irish and South African supporters living in Australia at present, a tour of that nature would get little buy-in from the broader Australian media and public. The fact that nobody from this part of the world would be able to attend make it even worse.

The least-worst option appears to be leaning towards transferring the tour to the UK and Ireland. That said, it’s extremely unlikely we will be in a position to stage any game here given how far behind our vaccine rollout is compared to progress across the water. Even then they’re talking about a minimum stadium capacity of 25% which is far from ideal.

It’s reported that the Lions board have approached the British Government to underwrite a ‘home tour’ in the form of a financial guarantee should matches be forced behind closed doors because of new Covid outbreaks. One wonders how that would go down with the British taxpayer.

Right now the Lions board are backed into a corner with the three options each unpalatable to varying degrees. Thinking outside the box, there is another solution that, in my opinion, merits consideration even if it needs widespread cooperation.

Clear the way for a 2022 Lions tour to South Africa by bringing forward the Ireland and England tours to New Zealand and Australia respectively to the window vacated by the Lions this summer. Both countries are already hosting large sporting events.

Instead of Wales travelling to South Africa in 2022, invite the Springboks to a three test series against potential 2021 Grand Slam winners this summer. Play two tests in Cardiff with the middle one staged in Twickenham in order to maximise the financial return. This option will prove logistically challenging but warrants consideration.

Think back to that first behind-the-scenes video of the Lions tour to South Africa in 1997 and tell me you can replicate that type of intensity and camaraderie on a tour played in empty stadia out there or half empty stadia across Britain. Bite the bullet now and preserve the integrity of the tour by staging it in 2022.