Victory that means carry on touring

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. ‘In terms of stars that shine brightly, there are few things that can compare to the Lions. Weekly rugby is the bread and butter and we can co-exist without hurting each other.’ English clubs are demanding more money for the release of players, with the compensation recently described as ‘farcical’ as the Lions seek more preparation time in future. The tourists struggled with jetlag before the tour’s opening game against the New Zealand Barbarians and questions were raised about whether the concept is manageable in the professional era. But Feehan dismissed any anti-Lions sentiment, revealing there are no plans to move away from the traditional four-year touring cycle of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. ‘Perhaps it was easier 20 years ago but there’s no other challenge like this and that’s part of the romance of it,’ said Feehan. ‘Sometimes the old ways are quite good. We have a model in place that works. ‘Fundamentally, Lions tours are going to remain largely in the same structure. We believe in evolution over revolution.’