Willie John’s view on the Lions will be valid always

WARREN Gatland was back ‘home’ in Wales this weekend running the rule over some familiar faces at the Liberty Stadium.

In the Ospreys side were Alun Wyn Jones, Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric, while Ulster had a couple more of his 2017 British & Irish squad in their ranks in Jack McGrath and Iain Henderson.

It was probably appropriate that Gats was watching Ulster at the end of a week in which arguably their greatest player, and certainly one of the alltime greatest Lions, Willie John McBride, launched a scathing attack on anyone who dared to doubt the relevance of the British touring team.

With five tours behind him, including series wins in New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa as captain in 1974, Willie John knows the Lions inside out. Some people claimed his comments, basically blaming the English clubs and their owners for trying to put the Lions out of existence, were out of touch.

That’s not what I read. As far as I’m concerned, any and every argument put forward to keep the Lions as part of the international calendar is a valid one. Some of my greatest moments in rugby came playing for the Lions and they are memories I shall cherish for the rest of my life.

As a player, you grow up dreaming of playing for your country and then maybe, just maybe, being good enough to one day play for the Lions. It is the ultimate, the pinnacle, the most sought after jersey in British and Irish rugby.

But while it is about giving the best players from the four Home Unions the chance to play against three of the best rugby playing nations in the world every four years, it is also so much more these days.

It generates cash, it gives the fans something special to be a part of and it provides rugby with a real point of difference from other team sports. Vive la difference!

The Lions are the ultimate feel-good factor in rugby, a unifying factor in an often divisive sporting landscape. Rugby would be much the worse for losing the Lions, especially if once every four years their demise merely made way for a couple of extra domestic club matches.

So, if Willie John wants to make the immortal ‘99’ call, I’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with him, albeit using a step ladder!