The British and Irish Lions are reportedly considering altering their tour schedule for the first time since Australia was added as a standalone tour in 1989.<\/p>\n
The touring schedule of the 138-year-old Lions is unconfirmed beyond the upcoming 2029 trip to New Zealand<\/a>, and it has emerged that a Beyond29 project has been launched to see where might they go.<\/p>\n Requests for proposals were reportedly sent to consultancies last month to establish the viability of adding new touring destinations outside of Australia<\/a>, New Zealand and South Africa<\/a>. These could include France, Japan and the Americas.<\/p>\n Just three times in Lions history has there been a standalone tour to a nation other than their three current ports of call, which they visit on a rotating 12-year cycle.<\/p>\n Preferred operating model beyond 2029<\/p>\n Those trips were to Argentina in 1910, 1927 and 1936, while one-off matches against teams such as France and Fiji have also happened.<\/p>\n In a report published by Telegraph Sport<\/a>, the Lions have apparently challenged consultancy firms to \u201cideate, validate and confirm the preferred operating model and approach for the period beyond 2029\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the Beyond29 document, the Lions<\/a> are looking \u201cto learn how they can expand their value and awareness further into new audiences, potentially in new territories\u201d.<\/p>\n Rugby Australia debt-free after British and Irish Lions tour \u2018exceeded projections\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n Seeking feedback in the areas of geography, host nation allocation process, timing of any potential change and match schedules, the documentation added that the current tour format commercially \u201cmight be coming close to maximising the return\u201d.<\/p>\n This research the Lions are seeking will \u201cevolve the current operating model to significantly increase revenue, margin and profit from each tour, to future-proof the business within the wider rugby union ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an ambition to understand how the model could evolve to maximise future return, with some fundamental assumptions within the Lions tour framework potentially shifting.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Blair: \u2018I regret my time with the British and Irish Lions; the All Blacks is an opportunity to fix that\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n