NEW LIONS COACH Warren Gatland says he is prepared to omit players based in France who cannot secure release from their clubs in time to join the tour of Australia next year.
Gatland is determined that every player be available to join up with the Lions to fly out on May 27th.
The French Top 14 final takes place on June 1st, the same day that the Lions play the Barbarians in Hong Kong.
Welsh players such as Gethin Jenkins and Mike Phillips currently ply their trade in the Top 14, but Gatland says he will put any allegiance he has to the Wales cause aside if it means compromising his position with the Lions.
He plans to travel to France on Wednesday to discuss arrangements with both Jenkins and Phillips, as well as their clubs.
“I’m going down to France and will talk to players down there,” he said in a press conference.
“Gethin’s one of the players I’m going to see. I’m going to talk to [Toulon coach] Bernard Laporte, give him the programme and talk about potential release.
“I’m going to watch Perpignan and Bayonne, so it’s a chance to talk to players.
“You don’t want to cut your nose off to spite your face in terms of making those players unavailable if they’re really, really important for you.
“But I’m also really, really conscious that you want the whole squad together. You don’t want people coming out late on a Lions tour – you want them in right from the start.
“If it means us having to make a really, really tough call because someone’s not available because they made a decision to go to France, we might have to make that call because it might be the best thing for the squad.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about what’s best for the team.
“We’re not going to make a hard and fast rule, but we are capable of making tough decisions if that’s right for the squad.”
Gatland was quick to point out the example of Nathan Hines, the Scottish player who missed Perpignan’s 2009 Top 14 final in order to take part in the Lions tour of South Africa.
“Ultimately it may be up to the players,” Gatland said.
“In 2009, Nathan Hines left Perpignan before a final because the Lions meant so much to him as a player.
“He said ‘stuff playing in the French club final – I want to be part of a Lions tour.’
“As a management board and coaching staff, we will have to discuss that because preparation is so tight.
“If it means players aren’t available to get on the plane, it may rule them out.”
