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While reflecting on the year of rugby that was, naturally I thought to the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.
The one thing that will always stand out in my mind of that tour was the battle between Israel Folau and George North. Both are some of my favourite players, and to see them both become global stars during the three-match Test series was a joy to behold.
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And in light of George Smith being able to play in both visits from the Lions, and in light of how many tours Brian O’Driscoll has been on, I got to thinking about if it’s possible the match up could be replicated in 2025.
It’s not inconceivable; North is but 21 years old and Folau 24. With proper injury and game-time management, both players could still be fit and firing the next tour.
But then it dawned on me how truly long 12 years is. Twelve whole years for the best of the British Isles to reach Australian shores.
That’s a very long gap. And with calls for Argentina to be included in Lions tours in the future, that gap could grow.
It’s not just Australia that’s affected. All of the host countries have to wait an agonising amount of time to strut their stuff.
So I’ve come up with a compromise – is it time to create a continental European equivalent?
It’s likely such a squad would currently be dominated by French players, with several Italians thrown in for good measure. But turn a few stones and other high-level European players emerge.
Andrei Ostrikov and Vasily Artemyev of Russia, who play for Sale and Northampton respectively.
Any number of the Georgian props that have become fashionable in French club sides could be handy alongside the Montpelier star Mamuka Gorgodze.
Sep Visser, brother of Scottish international Tim, who recently played for Edinburgh but represents the Netherlands at international level.
Throw in a few Romanians and a player each from Spain and Portugal, both of whom have used their 7s programs to turn rugby semi-professional in their countries and you have real talent coming through the ranks.
Such a squad could be rather competitive.
Leaving aside the profile boost the game would have in Europe’s peripheral rugby nations, this invitational team might ease some of the withdrawal symptoms Southern Hemisphere nations experience between Lions tours.
Assuming Argentina comes online as a host nation, the European team (let’s call them the “Stars”) could alternate with the Lions.
A typical tour year might see Argentina hosting neither, South Africa hosting the Lions, Australia hosting neither, and New Zealand hosting the Stars.
Four years later and it’s Argentina hosting the Stars, Australia hosting the Lions, with New Zealand and South Africa going temporarily without.
This way, host countries only ever go eight years without hosting a tour, but the two different tours will each imparts their own flavour.
Although the gap between each match-up (eg. Lions v Australia) may have increased, we may well find we don’t notice because we have the good memories of the most recent Stars tour fresh in our mind.
Would European national teams go for it?
The minnows, almost surely. Imagine the boost Spanish rugby would get if one of their players featured in a success like a Lions tour.
And bigger countries like Italy and France, potentially. Wales and England in particular used the Lions tour window to test out some second-string players, given so many of their stars were on Lions duty.
If all Six Nations sides had an even playing field like this, perhaps the FFR and FIR might take a similar approach.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.