Future tours not threatened by rebel R360 league, insists Lions chief

The Guardian

2 days ago

British & Irish Lions executives have insisted future tours are not under threat from the breakaway R360 league despite being ignored by the rebels. The proposed R360 calendar would appear to squeeze the Lions but, after a first series win in 12 years, the chief executive, Ben Calveley, believes future tours are secure.
He also revealed that talks are progressing well with New Zealand over the 2029 tour and, after guiding the Lions to a first series win since 2013, Andy Farrell is in pole position to continue as head coach in four years' time, according to Calveley. The chief executive also admitted 'home' fixtures – such as that staged in Dublin against Argentina in June – are to become a regular staple and wants tour matches against other nations such as Fiji and Japan to replace some provincial fixtures after the Lions were rarely tested by Australia's Super Rugby sides.
As the Lions were plotting – and failing – to wrap up a series whitewash in Sydney this week, a number of meetings were held between rugby's powerbrokers. It is understood that at a World Rugby meeting, R360 featured highly on the agenda with the competition planning to launch in September 2026. The breakaway league intends to hold its fixtures from April to October, pausing in July for the international window. Ten-match Lions tours require using a larger international window every four years, however, and at present organisers have approval from World Rugby to do so.
'We haven't had any formal discussions at all with R360 so I can't comment in any detail on their proposition and their proposal,' said Calveley. 'What I can say and you have seen these quotes come from players at every stage throughout the tour is that they remain absolutely committed to the Lions. We all know that we have our place in the calendar baked into [World Rugby's] regulation 9 and I wouldn't see that changing in the future.
'It's up to them who they want to make contact with. I don't really want to comment on how they manage their own business. For me, what is encouraging is that our players remain committed to the Lions. I think we have seen on this tour just what it means, not just to them but to the fans and the whole of the game. We are very confident that our position in the future is secure.'
The Lions were scheduled to fly home on Sunday night after failing to wrap up a 3-0 series victory, going down 22-12 in Sydney. Having already secured the series, however, Farrell all but confirmed his interest in resuming the job in four years and Calveley gave the Ireland head coach a glowing endorsement.
'He has done a great job and I have really enjoyed working with him,' he added. 'When it comes to our appointments for future tours, we will start the process in about two years and I don't think it would be right to comment on where it ends up, let's see. But he has put himself in a very strong position hasn't he, let's put it that way.'
Saturday's match was delayed by 38 minutes due to lightning in the surrounding area and while TV viewers got a glimpse inside the changing rooms with Bundee Aki pictured on an exercise bike and Finn Russell shown scrolling through his phone, the Lions performance director David Nucifora soon put a towel over the camera. He has been criticised for doing so but the Lions have insisted that they met tour regulations regarding TV access into their dressing room and defended their actions on the grounds that tactics might have been exposed. 'It's a balance,' said Calveley. 'There are certain things that you do have to protect. But, at the same time, we want to be as open as we can. We want to be accessible and bring fans behind the curtain.'
Calveley also confirmed that the 2029 tour of New Zealand is set to include nine matches again as well as another warm-up match with France as a leading candidate to be the opposition, either in the UK or in the United States. France has been mooted as a possible tour destination and though Calveley insisted the Lions would be going back to Australia.
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'If you look at the different elements of the tour, you have the pre-tour, the equivalent of the Argentina game in Dublin, you then have the tour matches and the Test matches,' added Calveley. 'Leave the Tests alone. You are not going to do anything with those. We are really keen in doing more in the pre-tour element. You might bring different countries into that space. And then you could do the same with the tour matches. Would we be interested in bringing in, for example, a Fiji or a Japan? And you can think of other countries as well. Yes we would. That is a conversation we will have with New Zealand rugby to see if that is possible.
'I would absolutely envisage returning to Australia. Just to be very clear, I know there's been loads of speculation about whether that would be the case or not, but we've had a wonderful tour here, and it is a hundred per cent our ambition to return, and we would want the next one to be bigger and better than this one. Who knows what the calendar looks like in the future. If nothing changes in terms of calendar configurations and so forth, then [2037] would be the expectation, yes.'