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Alun Wyn Jones admits it would be a “travesty” if British and Irish Lions tours were to fade from the international calendar after his own illustrious career in the red jersey ended in heartache.
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The Lions are having to fight increasingly hard for their place in a cluttered global programme, with this summer’s ultimately fruitless trip to South Africa squeezed from six weeks to five.
Head coach Warren Gatland has repeatedly stated his desire for prospective series to be protected when rugby’s powerbrokers discuss the future of the world schedule.
Veteran captain Jones, who conceded the agonising 2-1 defeat to the Springboks will be his fourth and last series following appearances in 2009, 2013 and 2017, echoed Gatland’s view and believes Lions contests remain among the pinnacle of the sport.
He said: “It’s funny, being involved in 2009, I remember the furore after that – the Lions is this, the Lions is that. Should it exist?
“I think the commercialisation has increased with the scope with what is going on globally at the minute.
“In its most basic concept it is something that is very special and it ignites the imagination in children and adults and it is something that rugby has hung its hat on for a long, long time.
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“It is a big element of rugby that gives a lot of people across the globe something to look forward to.
“It is up there with all of those international competitions and rugby World Cups. It is very special and if rugby were to lose it, it would be a travesty.”
History repeated itself on Saturday evening as a late Morne Steyn penalty secured glory for South Africa, just as it did on Jones’ debut tour 12 years ago.
The Wales lock – rugby’s most-capped player – fought back tears at the end of the decisive 19-16 loss in Cape Town.
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With a trip to Australia pencilled in for 2025, he used a forceful outgoing speech to remind team-mates of the importance of being selected.
“I’m never going to put this jersey on again, I am never going to have this chance again,” said the 35-year-old, who overcame a dislocated shoulder to face the Springboks.
"It’s one-dimensional rugby. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t."
– @bensmithrugby on a 'very good' Springboks team and the test ahead to do better than their average win percentage. https://t.co/o3pRUDjljW— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 9, 2021
“I made a point to the guys that whoever is on the next one, make sure you go as hard as hell because it is a very special privilege to be involved in.
“I’ve already had a bit of stick for being overly emotional and I don’t give a f**k if people think I’m over-emotional, that’s what it means to me.
“Sometimes it’s easier to use the agent of a bit of raw language, so I apologise for that.”
Lions tours date back to 1888, with this year’s instalment – one of the most toxic in history due to off-field arguments and serious question marks about the on-field offering – in constant jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gatland’s men were punished for not fully capitalising on a 1-0 series lead or their first half dominance in the decider.
Jones reflected on the painful climax but was eager to avoid appearing bitter by adding to criticism of perceived tedious tactics and gamesmanship from the victorious Springboks.
“Credit to South Africa, they won. I’d set a pretty poor example if I was to start doing that now,” he said.
“I’ve played the game long enough to know that whatever I say people won’t be happy with, and people will pull it apart and take it out of context to fit their narrative. On a very basic level, I’ve got to set an example.
“We had our opportunities. To fall (narrowly) short probably hurts more than if it was a bigger loss.”
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
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