HENRY: 10 GAMES IN 8 WEEKS IS SUICIDAL

FORMER All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry believes the British and Irish Lions could be undone by a ‘suicidal’ schedule on their New Zealand tour. As well as three Tests against the world champions, the Lions face the New Zealand Barbarians, the Maori All Blacks and five Kiwi Super Rugby franchises. The 10 fixtures are squeezed into an eight-week programme and Henry, the Lions coach in 2001, believes the tourists could be humiliated by the midweek hosts. ‘There is huge pressure on the Lions,’ Henry told ESPN. ‘Those five franchised teams have nothing to lose, no pressure at all, so they will fire everything at the Lions. I just wonder if the itinerary is suicidal. Hopefully, they have the ability to overcome that. ‘When you tour, you need to ensure some momentum is created by results and you just wonder how they are going to go into the Test series with that itinerary.’ With Wales last June, Warren Gatland faced the Chiefs and suffered an embarrassing 40-7 defeat in Hamilton. The tourists were humiliated by a second-string franchise XV and Henry believes there could be similar upsets this summer. ‘The Chiefs had no pressure, they just went out and expressed themselves,’ said Henry. ‘When those young kids do that in this country, against opposition that they respect, it is going to be a massive challenge for the Lions. ‘It’s huge for the southern hemisphere countries to have the Lions tour. I know how much the players respect getting selected for the Lions. It is the pinnacle of their career. ‘If they don’t get success in those games, confidence is not going to be high and that is going to affect the way they play in the Tests.’