"Without cheating (or consulting your new friend Monsieur AI), spot the common link in the following sequence of years: 2022, 2018, 2014, 2010, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1990, 1984, 1981, 1978, 1975, 1972, 1969 and 1967? Tricky, isn't it? Even years, odd years, irregular gaps if you were a statistician seeking a mathematical pattern you would be sat there gazing at the numbers for a long time. Keen-eyed students of the game, however, may already have spotted the connection."
"And the strange-but-true punchline: how many times in those 16 tournaments following a Lions tour have England secured the title? The answer is a stone-cold zero. Remarkably it is necessary to rewind 63 years to 1963 before any of today's national coaches were born, never mind the players to find the last occasion an England squad bucked the trend. And since pro rugby kicked off in 1995, guess what?"
The listed years correspond to Five or Six Nations championships held directly after British & Irish Lions tours. In the 16 tournaments following a Lions tour, England secured the title zero times. The last occasion an England squad bucked that trend occurred in 1963. Since rugby turned professional in 1995 there have been seven post-Lions tour windows. In those seven windows only France and Ireland lifted the title, with France claiming five titles, four of them grand slams. Player load management is steadily improving and modern athletes are more accustomed to quick turnarounds, but the historical pattern remains notable.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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