'Host union should respect tradition'
Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:07
British and Irish Lions hero Jeremy Guscott believes host nations should buy into the values of tour and field their strongest provincial teams or risk having the opportunity to play the tourist taken away from them.
Guscott, writing in his column for the BBC, reflected back on a 'magnificent' Lions tour and paid tribute to McGeechan's class of 2009 for their efforts in South Africa.
"In sport, as with life in general, we don't live in a world of ifs, buts and maybes. It's tough out there, and only the strong survive. And on this occasion the world champions, South Africa, proved they were the strongest. But only just," he wrote.
"But the 2009 Lions tour will still go down as one of the best, and all the players must be congratulated for giving their all in a fiercely-contested series."
A hero of the 1997 tour, Guscott knows very well what it is like to play under legendary Lions coach McGeechan. The former England centre was full of praise for the work done by the Scot this time around but, in contrast, was a unimpressed with Springbok head coach Peter De Villiers.
"Head coach Ian McGeechan was Obama-esque with his choice of words at press conferences and after-match interviews. In marked contrast, Peter de Villiers was away with the fairies."
One particularly disappointing part of the tour for Guscott was the Springbok-less selections for all of the 'tour matches' ahead of the tests.
These, according to the respected pundit, are an important part of the tour and not having the best possible lineups playing against the Lions is not something he believes should be tolerated.
"I understand the host national coach might want to protect his squad from possible injury and to keep his players fresh for the Tests, but I'm afraid the host union has to respect and understand the history, tradition and commercial strength of a Lions tour.
"All these factors, not least the last, should make it mandatory to field full-strength provincial teams.
"If a nation declines, then the Lions shouldn't tour."
Guscott goes on to explain that he can never imagine a situation where a host nation and the Lions genuinely gets to such a level of disagreement but that he feels strongly about the issue and imagines many other Lions would too.
To read Guscott's full column click here.