Pretty much every British & Irish Lions tour leaves a rugby legacy. As well as being a commercial beast and something of a sporting phenomenon - four countries coming together once every four years to be supported by 40,000 people on the other side of the world, for heaven’s sakes - this “legacy” thing comes with the territory.
Ian McGeechan’s 1997 Lions revived the concept and gave the Lions its launching pad in the professional era. This was largely thanks to winning the series and the impact of the Living with Lions documentary. That show gave unprecedented access to the squad’s daily life and, with it, Jim Telfer’s legendary Lions speech.
The 2001 series in Australia was an epic, even if it ended in defeat to Rod MacQueen’s brilliantly reconstructed reigning world champions. It reaffirmed the Wallabies’ status as a superpower, but also proved inspiring for the core of the England side that would beat Australia in the World Cup final two years later.
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
Ironically, Clive Woodward dipped into the English well a little too deeply in 2005 when the Lions were blown away in New Zealand. That All Blacks side had not won the World Cup in 2003, when mugged by an inferior but inspired Australia in the semi-finals.
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Nor would the All Blacks do so in 2007 when, again, they were mugged by inspired opposition. France were the opponents in that unforgettable quarter-final in Cardiff. Yet, as Ronan O’Gara recently said in The Irish Times, that was probably the best All Blacks side of the professional era. Dan Carter’s virtuoso 33-point performance in the second Test is the best by an outhalf in the professional era. Now, that’s some legacy.
The 2009 collision between a South African side that had conquered the world two years previously and a brilliant Lions side perhaps went beyond the line in its sheer physical brutality. But it was a true epic, managing to both reaffirm the Springboks as the leading side in the world and revive the Lions brand.
The Boks may have made changes after winning the first two Tests, but that win in the tour finale in Ellis Park under Paul O’Connell’s captaincy ended a run of seven successive Test losses.
The revival has continued too, with the Lions emphatically sealing a Test series win with that 41-16 victory over Australia in Sydney in 2013. There was huge merit in drawing a series from one-nil down in New Zealand in 2017, which strengthened the argument that northern hemisphere rugby was now punching on an equal footing with the giant southern counterparts.
True, the last two World Cups have remained the preserve of the Springboks but those aforementioned three Lions tours contributed to a narrowing of the gap between the two hemispheres - witness Ireland winning a series in New Zealand and drawing one in South Africa.
Granted, the 2021 tour didn’t leave much of a legacy. Without fans, it probably shouldn’t have taken place. That took all the joy out of a Lions tour and the rugby wasn’t much better.
But that is what makes this tour all the more important. It is crucial that it leaves us with memorable rugby and images. This Lions tour is a little different from any of its predecessors in the professional era, primarily because it finds its hosts at its lowest ebb.
The Wallabies have nothing like the celebrated names of a dozen years ago - Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau - never mind the 2001 vintage of John Eales, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff et al.
The hoped-for “saviour” of Australian rugby, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, is probably the most celebrated player in the current Wallabies crop. However, that is in large part due to his achievements in rugby league and his acquisition has bucked the increasing trend of recent times.
Pundits and supporters of rugby league and Aussie rules appear to be more dismissive towards rugby union than 12 or 24 years ago. They are more powerful financially and league now aggressively targets young players in rugby union, while Aussie rules is dipping more into the Pacific islands.
Rugby Australia cannot really compete and is around Aus$50 million in debt. While the Lions were not conceived as a lifeblood for the southern hemisphere countries, this tour is expected to not just cancel that debt, but bring it Aus$50 million into the black.
But just as importantly, in a rugby sense, the Wallabies need to demonstrate this can indeed be the start of the golden era. Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh believes it is possible two years out from a men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia. A women’s World Cup will follow in 2029, and then the Olympics in Brisbane 2032.
But what if the Lions reaffirm their supremacy of last Saturday in the second and third Tests and complete a convincing 3-0 series win? And what if that is followed by another last-place finish in the Rugby Championship and another pool exit in a World Cup, and one on home soil?
The Lions will surely tour here again 12 years hence, but there is no long-term Tour agreement and who knows what the future might hold? Joe Schmidt is a great coach but as things stand, this does not look like a vintage Wallabies generation.
In a sense, while it is a tad insulting to these Wallabies, the grand ambition which Henry Pollock revealed stacks up. By rights, the Lions should win this series 3-0 if they want to be considered even above the norm.
The non-financial stakes are high over the next two Saturdays in Melbourne and Sydney. Ideally, it could be argued, the greatest legacy from this 2025 Lions tour would be to help provide a relaunch for the Wallabies and rugby union in Australia, while fulfilling the Lions’ stated desire for greatness and a 3-0 series win.
Alas, it almost certainly can’t do both.
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