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Will the Lions' schedule win it for Wallabies?
Gene Sayers
Roar Rookie
8th May, 2013
14
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Gene Sayers
Roar Rookie
8th May, 2013
14

Every Lions tour is more than a little unfair in that the Lions never get to play at home. All their matches are on the road, and a long, long road it is.

When the Lions visit South Africa, they’re in for a 12-hour flight for a start. Then they roam the Republic playing at venues with vastly different atmospheric profiles, like sea-level Capetown and Jo’burg at 1,700 metres.

When they go to New Zealand, a 12-hour flight is just the first part. They spend two and a half hours on the ground in Singapore, then have to endure another nine-and-a-half hours to Auckland (Then they have to endure Auckland). But they get a break touring NZ as the country’s less than half the size of South Africa.

But playing a series in Australia’s a rugby ball breaker.

In a few weeks time, the Lions will fly to Hong Kong, 12-hours non-stop, and take on the latest edition of the Barbarians, June 1 – the Baa-Baas’ squad has been announced and is included below.

In Hong Kong the Lions will run smack into temperatures as high as 28 degrees and a humidity count of over 80%. Not nice.

A day later, they’re in the air again for another four hours, on the ground in Singapore for a plane change, then it’s an additional five and a half hours to Perth. Here they play the Force, June 5.

They fly clear across the country for their next match, against the Reds in Brisbane, June 8.

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Three days later they’re in Newcastle, NSW, up against a NSW-Queensland Country team. Then they take on the Waratahs in Sydney on the 15th.

Three days after that they’re in Canberra facing the Brumbies.

Then back to Brisbane for the first Test on the 22nd, and down to Melbourne to play the Rebels three days later.

The second Test follows, in the same city, on the 29th. Finally, they trek back to Sydney for the third and last Test, July 6.

That’s a lot of airport time, flight time, road time, hotel time and pub time to cram into five weeks, and there’s no way it’s not going to take its toll.

So the question has to be asked: is playing away from home, and having to endure such a punishing schedule, partly – I stress the word partly – the reason why the Lions’ record against the three countries, stretching back 125 years, stands at won 38, lost 57?

Could be. And if it is, the Wallabies might well win the coming series partly because of the travel fatigue factor.

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Barbarian squad:

Backs: Jared Payne (Ulster), Rowan Varty (DeA Tigers and Hong Kong), Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz Olympique and USA), Joe Rokocoko (Bayonne and New Zealand), James Hook (Perpignan and Wales), Nick Evans (Harlequins and New Zealand), Kahn Fotuali’i (Ospreys and Samoa), Dwayne Peel (Sale Sharks and Wales), Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz Olympique and France).

Forwards: Duncan Jones (Ospreys and Wales), BJ Botha (Munster and South Africa), Paul James (Bath Rugby and Wales), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester and Italy), Matthew Rees (Scarlets and Wales), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso and Italy), Marco Wentzel (London Wasps and South Africa), Jim Hamilton (Gloucester Rugby and Scotland), Francois Louw (Bath Rugby and South Africa), Sam Jones (London Wasps), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Treviso and Italy), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais and Italy), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz Olympique and France).

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