Tour is only eight matches and has many uncertainties, but if Warren Gatland assembles the right pack – with Maro Itoje a possible captain – the prospects are mouth-watering
Exactly a year from now – assuming their tour window is unchanged – the British and Irish Lions will be packing their bags for a trip like no other. Not only will the Lions’ expedition to southern Africa consist of only eight games but they are planning for it in the middle of a global pandemic. Warren Gatland, as head coach, must feel like the pilot of a light aircraft seeking to land on a tiny strip of grass beneath a range of vast, forbidding mountains.
Given we barely know what next week will hold – never mind 2021 – it is important not to get too carried away. What looks obvious now may look absurdly fanciful in 12 months. And how, exactly, is a player supposed to lay down a strong early marker to tackle the world champions when there has been no competitive rugby in the northern hemisphere for months? Almost everyone is a relatively unknown quantity. This creates an obvious inherent danger: picking on reputation is never the recipe for a properly roaring Lions team.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/jun/27/lions-2021-tour-of-south-africa-should-be-a-year-away-covid-19-permitting under the title “Lions 2021 tour of South Africa should be a year away – Covid-19 permitting | Robert Kitson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
