Victory secured Lions future

THE future of the Lions has been declared safe by chief executive John Feehan following Saturday’s triumph over New Zealand. Time constraints and demands for more money from clubs have threatened the Lions concept, but Feehan has told

Sportsmail that tours are only going to get ‘bigger and better’. South Africa will host the Lions in 2021 and, while there is pressure to reduce the itinerary to five weeks, the powerbrokers are confident of negotiating a deal with their stakeholders. ‘Every business has risks, threats and opportunities and the Lions are no different,’ said Feehan. ‘More people support the Lions than at any other point in history and I see a vibrant future as there are few things that compare to them.’ Feehan revealed there are no plans to move away from the traditional four-year touring cycle of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. ‘We have a model in place that works,’ he said. ‘Lions tours are going to remain largely in the same structure. We believe in evolution over revolution.’