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1st December 2015
12:01pm GMT

In 2017, for example, the Lions will take part in a 10-match tour over 35 days - June 3 to July 8. They have three Tests against the world champion All Blacks, one against a representative side, a date with New Zealand Maori and five matches with Super Rugby franchises.
The week before they set off, there is the 2017 PRO12 and Aviva Premiership finals.
Thornley notes the toll Lions tours have taken on Brian O'Driscoll [2005], Paul O'Connell [2009 & 2013] and the Welsh players [2013]. He writes:
'The Tri Nations love the Lions too, for they are ideal tourists. Four years ago, it’s reckoned that 40,000-plus British and Irish fans flooded into Australia to support the Lions. 'So they give a huge financial injection to the local economy and host union and, of course, generally lose. What’s not to love about them?'There is no stopping the Lions juggernaut for 2017 but another 3-0 whitewash to New Zealand - and injuries to leading European players - may bring this debate right into the open. Sponsorship money at a cost of Northern Hemisphere success - it's a high price to pay.
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