With less than a year to go to The British & Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand, preparations to ensure that the 2017 squad are continuing apace.
At the forefront of that effort is British & Irish Lions Director of Operations Gerard Carmody, who is part of a Lions delegation visiting New Zealand this June.
For Carmody, precision in every aspect is the vital ingredient while this trip will also give him the chance to experience conditions as they will be a year from now.
Attention to detail
“It is about precision planning. We are trying to pre-empt every aspect of what could happen on the tour. When you are there exactly a year before – it gives you a very good idea of what the situation will be like.
“We want to start building relationships with hotels and other suppliers, visit their facilities to ensure that they are able to deliver on all our requirements. It goes all the way down to things like housekeeping and laundry in hotels to bus companies, freighting and trucks from location to location – airports, pitches. We have to consider everything.”
Off the pitch, a huge emphasis is placed on ensuring the Tour party connects with local communities.
“These things are hugely important for a touring side, we also want them to experience everything that such a wonderful country like New Zealand has to offer, the different attractions and activities – where possible.”
Upcoming events
What’s next over the coming months? The challenge of building a successful team from a group of players who are fierce rivals for most of the intervening four years is unique. The focus at the moment is on putting a foundation in place.
"The goal is to bring players from four countries together quickly. We are working hard to get things in place so that as much as possible is set up for the Head Coach when he comes on board."
For further information, please visit lionsrugby.com/tours.
