Next stop for the Lions - Argentina?

One of the big talking points of 2017 is whether this British & Irish Lions tour would be the last we’d ever see. Now that it’s over, it’s pretty obvious that it won’t be – mainly because of the amount of money made by everyone involved.

However, it’s clear that a repeat of the rather difficult schedule that the Lions had in New Zealand won’t be repeated. Even though they did better than a lot of people thought – in fact they won the non-test games that were written off as losses pre tour – playing all five NZ Super Rugby teams in such a short time was still a tall order.

The scratchy start against the Barbarians and Blues is excusable given that the team only had a week together previously. The boring kick-fest against the Crusaders was necessary to get some morale on board. By the time the Lions got to the first test, they finally had the confidence to carve up.

Simply landing in NZ and hoping for a few hit outs to get their combos going isn’t a reality anymore. So why not take the squad to Argentina for a couple of games on the way? That way both the test and midweek side won’t have to get to know each other on NZ soil , plus the Lions brand can get to South America.

A game against an Argentine selection would be a less daunting prospect than a fired up NZ side. Then a test against Los Pumas to get a feel for what it’s like to pull on a Lions jersey, and then on to New Zealand/Australia/South Africa.

It’s not like the Lions haven’t played Los Pumas before, in fact the Argentines managed a draw with them in 2005. That day they played in Cardiff, and it was one of the most memorable games in Lions history – decided on the last play with a penalty to Jonny Wilkinson.

But they haven’t actually been to Argentina since 1936. Back then it seems that the locals hadn’t quite figured out how to play rugby, or at least tackle yet. The tourists won all their 10 matches by a combined score of 399-12.

Now Los Pumas are a member of The Rugby Championship and the Jaguares are in their second season of Super Rugby. Matches against both of them would be kind of pointless, given that they are essentially the same team in different jerseys. So a regional selection or local top club side would be a good warm up for the midweek Lions.

This solves the problem of a long tour in NZ and the fact that a full tour of Argentina would be a bit of a waste of time, given that the standard of local competition would be strong in the former and rather weak in the latter.

The Lions originally were rugby’s missionaries, spreading the good word of the game around the globe. It’d be nice to see them keep that part of their tradition by visiting a country outside of the regular cycle of the three big southern unions. Given the way Georgia is improving, they could be in line for a test against the Lions sometime soon as well.

Also, let’s face it: as long as there are beer taps nearby, the Lions fans will follow their team anywhere.