The British and Irish Lions are exploring the viability of tours to France, the Americas and Japan as they consider altering their touring schedule for the first time in 37 years.
In what would mark a seismic development for the 138-year-old Lions, new touring destinations are being investigated alongside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The three Sanzaar nations have hosted Lions tours on rotation every four years since 1989, when Australia was added as a standalone tour for the first time. Only three times in Lions history has a different nation hosted a standalone tour – Argentina in 1910, 1927 and 1936 – but one-off fixtures, against the likes of France and Fiji, have also taken place.
New Zealand are set to continue that rotation and host the 2029 men’s tour, but the Lions have launched their “Beyond29 project”, with a “request for proposal” sent to consultancies last month.
In correspondence seen by Telegraph Sport, the Lions say they want a consultancy firm to “ideate, validate and confirm the preferred operating model and approach for the period beyond 2029”.
The document outlines how the Lions want “to learn how they can expand their value and awareness further into new audiences, potentially in new territories,” adding that the current format, commercially, “might be coming close to maximising the return”.
The Lions want feedback from consultants in four areas:
Geography,Host nation allocation process,Timing of any potential change,Match schedules.
The idea of altering touring schedules and destinations is only in its nascent stage but it shows an appetite from the Lions, at least, to explore alternative options.
‘Increased commercial value’
A change of geography would be the most historic potential alteration. The Lions are seeking an “analysis of which locations around the world could potentially host future tours (men and/or women), with a view to increasing commercial return and fan engagement (whilst not damaging the core DNA), from our preferred markets (existing Sanzaar nations, France, Americas and Japan)”.
The host allocation process involves the rotation of countries. The Lions have challenged agencies “to include: your recommended optimum host nation allocation model, e.g. no rotation, 12-year (current) or 16-year rotation; and how to drive increased value by potentially resetting the host allocation model from the current rotation”.
The Lions also want advice on timing: ie. when to change the current model, if they decide to, and whether there should be a bidding process for potential host nations.
The schedule element focuses on how pre-tour, tour and Test matches would be structured “to drive increased commercial value, fan engagement, player preparation and player experience”.
The aim of the research, according to the Lions, is to “evolve the current operating model to significantly increase revenue, margin and profit from each tour, to future-proof the business within the wider rugby union ecosystem”.
“There is an ambition to understand how the model could evolve to maximise future return, with some fundamental assumptions within the Lions Tour Framework potentially shifting,” the document states.
The Lions require the successful firm, which will be decided this month, to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) to allow the touring side “to share further context and information to inform full proposal responses”.
AloJapan.com