Auckland as base for England side

It is too early to tell if the Lions will use Auckland as a base throughout next year's tour of New Zealand in a similar vein to the upcoming English tour.

New Zealand Rugby Union officials were not impressed to learn England will spend all but 2 1/2 days in Auckland during their short tour here next month.

They will be based in Auckland until Thursday night before the first test against the All Blacks on Saturday, June 12, in Dunedin, returning north the following day to prepare for the second test in Auckland a week later.

Unsubstantiated reports out of England say the Lions management is in favour of doing the same thing next year throughout their 10-match, three-test tour.

Both teams are coached by Sir Clive Woodward, who had shown a preference for staying away from match venues until late, NZRFU deputy chief executive Steve Tew said.

"Clive certainly has a preference to having a base to work out of," Tew said.

"But it's still very early days in terms of our discussions with the Lions. Nothing has been confirmed. We've made bookings to allow for all sorts of contingencies."

Tew would not be drawn on the NZRFU's reaction if the Lions did choose to make their base in Auckland. Such a decision would take away much of the history and charm of a Lions tour, with smaller centres likely to see little of the touring stars.

"The Lions are going to be a very different beast to England because they've got to bring enough players and management to play two games a week," Tew said.

With such an enormous tour squad, one possibility is that those players involved in midweek matches will travel earlier to the venue while players not involved remain in Auckland.

Last year the England playing 22 travelled from their Wellington base to New Plymouth a day before the match against New Zealand Maori. The bulk of the test squad stayed in Wellington, the venue for the test.

The All Blacks have also employed similar preparation techniques in recent years. They used Melbourne as their headquarters throughout most of last year's World Cup campaign, and have taken to preparing in coastal cities such as Durban or Cape Town for tests at altitude in South Africa.

- NZPA