Piecemeal tourists are no match in the professional era
It is clear from Lions tours that the difference between a well-drilled international XV and a squad thrown together with little preparation is too great to bridge according to Richard Williams in the Guardian.
"If you lose seven matches in a row in three different countries over a span of eight years, someone is going to start suggesting that there is something inherently unbalanced about the make-up of the contest in which you are engaged. Pretty soon, perhaps, the question will be asked of the British and Irish Lions' tours to the southern hemisphere that was posed in similar circumstances of the Ryder Cup and the Wightman Cup when it became obvious that the odds were hugely and – in the absence of corrective action – probably permanently weighted in favour of one side.
"Thirty years ago this summer, after the male golfers of the United States had taken the cup 10 times in a row against their British and Irish counterparts, once admittedly after a tie, the terms of Samuel Ryder's biennial competition were modified to allow players from continental Europe to join the forces arrayed in opposition to the Americans."
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