The British & Irish Lions is the only team to have stuck with tradition by having a tour every 4 years. These tours represent a 12 year wait between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand which is way too long.
This year we saw some of the European teams going on tour to the Southern Hemisphere countries but these were far too short to really benefit anyone. A old school tour would be anywhere between 6 nd 8 weeks and would involve a proper test series of 3 or 4 test matches. There would also be midweek games sandwiched between the main games held at weekends.
The reason behind these types of tours is they not only generate more revenue but the international teams touring have to have a proper squad of players. If we look back to the World Cup last year a team like Ireland only used a handful of players besides their main 15. This highlighted that they have a strong 15, but their depth is not up to strength and these tours that are starting in 2026 will help create team depth.
The mid week matches on tour are or were known as the dirt trackers who were the teas made up from the fringe players giving them game time and the chance to gain experience playing abroad. You have to ask how any players ever get a chance to gain experience if they never have any game time. The problem happens if a number of players are injured or retire then teams go into a rebuilding phase which can take years.
South Africa are so far ahead of the other countries around the world they have realised the only way of narrowing the gap is to start touring again. South Africa are constantly rebuilding ad they ae prepared to lose test matches between World Cups to grow the team. The problem for everyone else now is they have so much depth they can field 3 different teams and still be winning.
If we dissect what SA has now with their current squad they have more than 3 players for every position on the field and everyone of these players does not lower the standards or quality if they swap players around. Last weekend SA changed 5 players for the All Black test match and one could see the standard was slightly off from the week before, but only marginally. South Africa can rotate at will resting players giving those other players a chance to gain some experience which makes the squad even stronger.
Someone asked the other day asking which sides had improved since the last World Cup and yes the South African team was deemed to have got stronger since winning the World Cup. The team has added roughly 6 key players since then and only one player has retired making the team a better unit.
I love the idea of teams touring again as a sports fan and tourist there is no better way of travelling to other countries. The tourism industry gets a huge boost due to the games being played at smaller venues not normally benefitting from a mass influx of sports fans. Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere will benefit hugely from these tours as up till now the only tours taking place has been the end of year tours to the Northern Hemisphere which is at the end of the Southern Hemisphere season.
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