Lions are to blame for poor planning, says NZRU chief

STEVE TEW has dismissed criticism that the Lions didn’t have enough preparation time at the start of their tour, the New Zealand rugby chief claiming they should have flown to Auckland earlier than they did. Warren Gatland waited until all his 41 players had finished up their club seasons before flying out from London on May 29, arriving two days later in May 31 and playing their first match on June 3. But one of the most powerful administrators in world rugby said they should have travelled a week earlier without the 11 players whose clubs were still involved in end-ofseason games. ‘They need a longer preparation clearly. They could easily have brought the majority of the squad over to play the Barbarians game and just left the guys playing the club finals behind, and join later,’ said Tew about a tour side that has won just four of its eight matches so far. But Tew says the number of games should be reduced. ‘We probably won’t see a 10-game tour again, the calendar is just too full. The minimum Is around eight.’ ÷SEAN FITZPATRICK is dismayed at calls to end Lions tours, saying that they showcase the best rugby has to offer. The former All Black captain, who skippered New Zealand to a 2-1 series win against the tourists in 1993 is a big fan the Lions concept. ‘This is the biggest thing in rugby outside the World Cup. The Lions are phenomenal and we should not even be talking about [shortening]) it, he said. ‘I love the professional game and everything about it but we need to be a bit old school occasionally and the Lions is very much part of our history and the fabric of what we are.’