Unions, clubs, TV executives and sponsors can no longer act in isolation if a feasible solution for this summer is to be found
Rarely, if ever, has rugby union been in greater need of a silver bullet to solve all its problems. As older readers will remember that was once the Lone Ranger’s trademark, along with the habitual use of a mask to conceal his identity. How rugby’s Covid-threatened administrators would love a face-covered modern saviour to appear from nowhere and rescue their sport from looming oblivion.
The mundane reality, unfortunately, is that unions, clubs, television executives and sponsors can no longer act in isolation. Even if the
British &
Irish Lions somehow manage to unearth a feasible solution which preserves their scheduled tour of
South Africa this summer, it is unlikely to satisfy everyone. What works for one party is invariably someone’s else’s non-starter.