The Great Britain Lions must stay, insists Terry O’Connor

Sky Sports pundit Terry O’Connor says the Great Britain Lions brand shouldn’t be dismantled just because of a poor tour.

The Lions lost four games out of four on their tour of the southern hemisphere this autumn – one against Tonga, two against New Zealand and one against Papua New Guinea.

And O’Connor, who earned 14 caps for Great Britain and 11 for Ireland as a player, believes the Lions brand must continue.

He told Sky Sports: “I think the Lions is more than just one series.

“When most people of my generation were growing up, they never said they wanted to play for England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales in rugby league, it was always you wanted to play for Great Britian.

“The team and the brand was massive, and it only changed when they decided they were going to break up in to individual teams and go for draw-down funding. Then the brand of England Rugby League became bigger and that lessened the other home nations.

“International rugby years ago, in my opinion, got damaged by things like that, but the Great Britain brand is bigger than anything and you can’t just dismantle it because of a poor tour.”

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