Respected Australian pundit floats radical idea for future British and Irish Lions tours

Respected Australian commentator Sean Maloney has floated a radical idea for future British and Irish Lions tours.

Andy Farrell will lead the invitational team Down Under next year playing three Tests against a Wallabies side coached by Joe Schmidt.

Traditionally, British and Irish Lions tours occur every four years with the destination alternating between New Zealand, South Africa and Australia respectively.

More Lions tours in the future?

That could well change in the coming years with the schedule up for renewal before the tour to New Zealand in 2029, with Rugby South America president Sebastian Pineyrua already pressing for Argentina to be added.

Meanwhile, Maloney has suggested that the tour shouldn’t just be every four years as he would like to see it occur more regularly, stating that a Lions series should happen every two years.

Speaking on The Rugby Paper podcast, the commentator was asked if he would mind Australia hosting the Lions every 16 years instead of every 14 in order to include Argentina.

“Well no, I tell you what such will be the impact the Lions make for rugby in Australia next year that I would like to have them here every second year,” he said.

“So I think we go the other way not every 16 years, every two years we’ll welcome you down here and put on a show for you.”

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Wallabies’ 2024

Looking ahead to next year’s tour, Maloney also commented on the success that Schmidt’s team had during the November internationals after a disappointing Rugby Championship where they finished in last place after winning just one match.

The Wallabies defeated England and Wales in their opening two matches before being outplayed by Scotland and falling narrowly short to Ireland in Schmidt’s first game back at his old stomping ground.

This was after calls for the Lions to change their touring plans for next year with many predicting a largely one-sided Test series for the Lions.

“There’s a lot that Aussie rugby fans have taken from these last four weeks and it was kind of a little bit of a make or break because the Rugby Championship obviously didn’t go particularly well,” Maloney said.

“We were good against Wales and Georgia but the Rugby Championship we regressed in terms of results and unfortunately for the Wallabies, Aussie rugby fans can be so fickle that a rough four weeks in the north would have made the sell for the Lions next year really tricky, but those first two wins spun the narrative down here so significantly that everything after that was a bonus – so getting within three of Ireland, the result wasn’t what we wanted but it was a bonus.”

READ MORE: Joe Schmidt’s three-word response over the Wallabies’ readiness for the Lions