Willie John McBride has revealed to the Belfast Telegraph that he believes the 2017 British & Irish Lions have little chance of success during their tour to New Zealand this summer.
Thought of by many as the greatest Lion of all time, McBride played a key part of the only victorious series against New Zealand back in 1971.
He revealed that a “proper” tour must be at least 12 games if the concept isn’t to be killed off by decreasing preparation time.
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“It takes you at least seven days to feel right again after going over there,” said McBride.
“The Lions are only going to be getting there now and they’ve already played twice.
“If you’re going to have a proper Lions tour, and I don’t regard this as a proper tour, you have to have at least 12 or 14 games with a proper build in too the Test matches.
“If the whole thing isn’t going to be killed, every four years we need to set other things aside and make sure we can have more games.
“It’s about building a team, building combinations, building relationships, and that takes time for anyone.”