Nigel Woods Says Great Britain Lions Tour Of Australia, New Zealand 'Edging Closer'

Rugby League Int'l Federation Chair Nigel Wood said that a first Great Britain Lions tour in more than a decade is "edging closer," according to Dave Woods of the BBC. A meeting in Sydney this week could "pave the way" for the Lions to tour the southern hemisphere in '19. Wood said, "That would be for matches against Australia, New Zealand and other nations. It's a real possibility. It's not a foregone conclusion, but I wouldn't be having this discussion if I didn't have a degree of confidence." The Lions last played in a series against New Zealand in '07. Wood also wants to "see more matches between Tier 2 nations, such as Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Pacific countries, and the big three of Australia, New Zealand and England." Wood: "We want to give them access to playing against England, Australia and New Zealand. We saw last year, for example, how spectacularly well Scotland did. But France have only played against Australia once in the last 10 years " (BBC, 5/1).