There is every chance that this summer is to be the last swansong for the July tour. World Cup preparations will guide next year’s schedule and it is likely that a Nations Championship and cross-border itineraries will be in place from 2024 onwards. However commercially appealing whatever comes next may be, it will be a shame to lose these slow-burn affairs, steeped as they are in narrative and tradition as foes familiarise themselves with one another.
Certainly the three-date entanglement between Australia and England is a reminder of all that is good about these extended encounters, a collision of two imperfect sides balancing old and new. While a head coach would typically be granted three chances to look at a touring party during the four years between World Cups, the wretched recent period means that, for most, this is the only tour of this style during a disrupted cycle – lending an extra dose of importance.
