Lions lose their direction in more ways than one

Back in the day when they made voyages of discovery in the spirit of Vasco da Gama, no town was ever too small for the Lions. No matter how remote the location, they, like the 15th century Portuguese explorer, would find a way there. More often than not that would mean arriving at places they had never heard of like Taumarunui in New Zealand’s King Country and Westport on the west coast of the South Island.

A population of fewer than 5,000 makes each more a large village than a small town. Greymouth, only slightly larger, used to be another regular port of call. Nobody complained about the inconvenience because going so far off the beaten track was an integral part of the Lions’ raison-d’etre.

They don’t go to Taumarunui or Westport or Greymouth any more. Evangelism is all very well but unless there is money to be made, such pilgrimages have long been deemed pointless.

It begs a more pointed question, one which many shy away from for fear of being accused of heresy: Is there any point to the Lions any more?

The touring team we knew and loved has gone, a matter not of opinion but of stark reality. In an ever-shrinking world of mass communication, no sporting empire can have shrivelled at a more alarming rate than the one the Lions created for the greater glory of the game and kept for most of the 20th century.

As tours began shortening long before professionalism, a grand total of 42 venues once frequented by the Lions across three continents have been wiped off their map.

Sixteen are in New Zealand: Ashburton, Blenheim, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Pukekohe, Rotorua,

Taumarunui, Timaru, Wanganui, Westport, Whangarei,

South Africa can claim a dozen: Aliwai North, East London, George, Kimberley, Kroonstad, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Springs, Stellenbosch, Welkom, Wellington, Witbank.

Australia have six: Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gosford, Newcastle, Tamworth, Townsville.

Canada two: Vancouver, Toronto. Zimbabwe two: Harrare, Bulawayo. Namibia one: Windhoek. Kenya one: Nairobi.

Sri Lanka one: Colombo. Zambia one: Kitwe.

Covid may still be wreaking havoc but it has had nothing do with parting the Lions from so many historic staging posts. Their unique status as a touring team par excellence is now a thing of the past. That is not the Lions’ fault, as painfully illustrated during recent weeks. The Springboks’ decision to exclude their best players from the Super Rugby franchises resulted in mis-matches that did more damage to the Lions than their opponents.

The knock-on effect to the club game will be felt over the coming months. No Lion will reappear for ten weeks which means that Alun Wyn Jones, for example, will hardly be seen as an Osprey before the four-match Welsh autumn series begins.

The clubs, of course, have been compensated to the tune of £50,000-perLion, not much considering that the majority of those concerned will be hard pushed to play ten matches for their clubs, provinces or regions between now and next June.

The danger from a Lions’ perspective is that more of the game’s movers and shakers will begin to question whether they have become a touring team past its sell-by date.

There can be no avoiding a grim reality that the Lions in South Africa did themselves no favours.