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Well-placed sources have suggested to Sportsmail that there is growing acceptance that the existing slot must be used or the whole event - in whatever exact form - will be abandoned.
It is understood that World Rugby have no desire to mediate and help to broker a complex deal which would involve re-arranging 2022 Test tours which have already been provisionally agreed, such as England’s to Australia and Ireland’s to New Zealand.
The global governing body do not have any direct control in organising these fixtures, although they have to approve them. The home unions are thought to be refusing to countenance the upheaval which a Lions postponement would cause, partly due to national coaches’ resistance to changes impacting on their 2023 World Cup preparations.
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