The Lions head Down Under next summer to face arguably the greatest rugby team of all time and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, they have to do it without Paul O’Connell.
The retired second row became one of the most iconic tourists of the modern era, playing seven Tests in three Tours between 2005 and 2013, captaining the Lions in South Africa in 2009 and going into folklore by playing on in the first test three years ago in Australia despite breaking his arm.
However in an interview with The Daily Mail, the former Ireland and Munster skipper has expressed grave concerns about the future of the iconic Tours after next year’s trip to New Zealand, as money floods into the game and the club owners who pay the players bigger and bigger wages have a bigger and bigger say in how the game is run.
Tis but a scratch https://t.co/ye1j6m4hbY
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 4, 2016
The global calendar is expected to be redrawn after the 2019 World Cup to bring more uniformity between the hemispheres, which may spell trouble for the British and Irish selection that has been touring since 1888.
“I don’t know how they shorten the domestic season to give the Lions a bit more time together to prepare, but in an era when money makes the world go round, it is still really important to the players. I think the players should be consulted and should have a say in those things,” said O’Connell.
“If you are a businessman, you own a club as a business and see one of your players going off with the Lions and coming back injured, that is tough. And what money comes to them from the Lions?
“If all the decisions in rugby now are going to be made based on money, then there probably is no place left for the Lions. To me, for a player to be picked for the Lions and win for the Lions, that is still the ultimate. But that sort of thinking is coming into it less and less in rugby, so money will decide what happens with the Lions in the future. I hope I’m wrong.”
When one considers O’Connell’s contribution alone over an eight-year period, it is easy to see why the loss of the series would be mourned by rugby fans.
There is money to be made in the Lions Series too, so no need to son the black armband just yet.
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