The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

Henry suggests home Tests

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Sir Graham Henry believes the British and Irish Lions should consider playing Test matches at home.

Henry coached the Lions on their 2001 tour of Australia before leading his home country New Zealand for seven years, culminatin­g in World Cup glory in 2011.

Henry now feels the idea of playing Tests in the British Isles should be explored.

The Lions have played one-off home matches in the past, with a 1977 game against the Barbarians at Twickenham to mark the Queen’s silver jubilee and a 1986 clash with the Rest at Cardiff Arms Park as part of the Internatio­nal Rugby Board’s centenary celebratio­ns.

Cardiff also hosted a warm-up match against Argentina in 2005 before Sir Clive Woodward’s Lions squad departed for that summer’s tour of New Zealand.

“I wonder about having Lions Tests at home back in the British Isles,” Henry told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.

“I wonder if that would be a possibilit­y going forward.

“Ask the players and fans – that’s what the game is about. I’m sure they would all be very positive about the Lions brand continuing and maybe expanding in the future.

“You’ve got to have priorities and, if the Lions is the priority, that’s the way it has to be.”

The future of the Lions has been widely discussed during the current tour of New Zealand.

The next three-tour cycle of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand has been agreed in principle with a minimum of eight games, but Lions officials fear that shortening the schedule would make the concept untenable.

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