Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills fears for the demands on top players like Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll.
"I thought of a player like O'Driscoll when I listened to the words of self-congratulations coming from the IRB when they announced that longer-term tours, something like the old-fashioned variety, were coming back. Great, said most people in the game. Wonderful; another link with tradition restored.
"But it will only be great for the best players, like O'Driscoll, if it means they aren't going to be driven even harder. If some recompense is to be made for the fact that they may need to play in a three-Test series in the southern hemisphere in June, where will the slack be cut in the preceding months?
"The fact is, if the return of so-called 'traditional' tours means loading ever more commitments onto the shoulders of the world's greatest players, all the IRB will be doing is hastening their demise. And from where I sit, that doesn't look a terribly clever idea."
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