Don’t mess with the Lions magic...delay the tour for a year

SO IT looks like the Lions are going to need a Plan B, but what should it be? The only answer is to postpone the tour by a year. Cancellation is unthinkable — as is relocation.

Since Sportsmail revealed that the British and Irish crusade to South Africa this summer is in grave danger of Covid disruption, various contingencies have been hurriedly outlined.

While there is a growing acceptance that the event cannot proceed in its intended slot, there are wildly different takes on the best alternative.

Let’s dismiss the cancellation scenario. The Lions are too precious to be mothballed. Where there’s a will, there is a way out of this mess and there is considerable will — in these parts, in South Africa and beyond.

Let’s also rule out keeping the Lions at home. It would be a horrible precedent and could spell the death of the entire glorious concept.

If the Lions were to face the Springboks and provincial sides from their country over here, what is to say that a measure proposed as an emergency solution wouldn’t be regarded as a template?

Of course there are exceptional circumstances but this is an exceptional sporting product. If it was only about maximising revenue, the Lions would never play away from home, as the market here is a moneymaking phenomenon.

It is about moulding four nations into a potent force, on a near-impossible timescale, in hostile territory, reinforced by the presence of their fabled Red Army. It is meant to be unique and memorable.

One solution makes a lot of sense. Shift the Six Nations to this summer and stage the Lions tour in South Africa 12 months later.

The first part of that is highly unlikely to be adopted, despite offering the prospect of matchday revenue from fans in their thousands armed with a Covid vaccination. Scheduling complications for the broadcasters are almost certain to rule it out.

Another option could be to explore whether northern tours this summer and next could be swapped, so that — for example — England visit Australia this July and then go to Canada and the USA when the Lions are on their rescheduled 2022 tour.

It would take some doing, but could be within the scope of officials striving to reignite the sport. The powers-that-be must be willing to think outside the box but must not sacrifice tradition as a quick fix.