For us rugby tragics selecting Lions squads offers much entertainment and an opportunity to sound off safe in the knowledge that your selection will never face the ultimate Test. A win-win as we sip our beers with our own version of Fantasy Rugby. Everybody will be rushing out their versions in the coming days.
Traditionally the Five Nations, later upgraded to the Six Nations, is unquestionably the proving ground, the arena in which the various candidates sit four or five examination papers in quick succession. A very curious mix of continuous assessment and sudden death. You can be A+ in four papers but if you bomb just one you could be in deep trouble.
Consistency and reliability is touted as the gold standard – the type of consistency that wins Six Nations titles and glorious Slams – and yet when you are taking on the world beaters from the southern hemisphere is it really consistency you want? Or the prospect of blazing brilliance when it really counts.
Certainly the presence of Warren Gatland – Billy no Mates on his own up in the echoing stands – at every game it was physically possible to attend underlines the huge importance attached to those games.
But there are so many nuances with Lions’ selection. Let’s take the six modern day tours that can be regarded as successes – the series wins in 1971, 1974, 1989, 1997 and 2013 plus the dramatic drawn series in 2017. What is the common winning link? Is there one?
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