Scotland will go 20 years without full summer tour to New Zealand

SCOTLAND'S wait for a Test series tour of New Zealand is to span more than 20 years after the New Zealand Rugby Union yesterday published a new touring schedule up to 2019 which welcomes all of the home nations bar the Scots.

The last time Scotland toured the Land of the Long White Cloud was in 2000. New Zealand have successfully lobbied against having Scotland back since then, due to a belief that Scottish teams would not attract big crowds and so prove to be a commercial flop. The IRB last week announced a new ten-year schedule which apparently ensured that the leading nations would again take on tours with those further down the rankings and not keep themselves to the ones they perceived to be the most lucrative.

The SRU welcomed that news last week, insisting it would re-open the touring door to the southern hemisphere nations on a more regular basis. Of course, Scotland will play in New Zealand in next year's Rugby World Cup, with matches in South Island cities that have widespread cultural and historic links with Scotland. However, the full Test series door appears to remain firmly closed to Scotland.

Ireland will launch the new three-Test tour format, which will restore midweek games, in New Zealand in June 2012, England visit in 2014 and Wales in 2016. France will tour twice in the next ten years, in 2013 and 2018. There are no tours in the World Cup years, 2015 and 2019, and the British and Irish Lions are due to next tour New Zealand in 2017.

The NZRU made no mention of Scotland in its ten-year schedule, but the SRU insisted Scotland will be heading to All Blacks territory and maintained it was happy with the schedule. Scotland will play a one-off Test against New Zealand in 2016, with two matches against Japan, as warm-up opposition for the All Blacks three-Test series with Wales.

An SRU spokesman stated: "It's important to have a schedule that is equitable across the board. We're happy with the schedule as it stands between 2012 and 2019. We have some very exciting fixtures against southern hemisphere teams and tier two teams, which is great news for our supporters, players and coaches. There are still some issues to be clarified and we will look to announce the full schedule in the coming weeks."

New Zealand have termed their schedule "a series of blockbuster tours" and NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew said the new schedule was a "major step forward" for the game in the southern hemisphere with SANZAR countries now hosting three-Test Series in June of each year.

While Scotland's last tour to New Zealand was a decade ago, Ireland have toured New Zealand in 2002 and 2006, England in 2004 and 2008 and Wales in 2003 and this coming summer. Tom Smith, the current Edinburgh assistant coach, first toured with Scotland to New Zealand in 1996 and he was also part of the last tour, in 2000, and, from a players' perspective, he said it would be a blow to Scottish rugby.

"I don't think any player would pretend it's anything other than disappointing," he said. "I remember that first tour in 1996 vividly because it really lifted my ambitions as a player. I got the exposure to a new environment, and it gave me an idea of where I wanted to get to and perhaps how much work I had to do to have a chance of getting there. And that was just from playing midweek matches at that time. Those presented players and coaches with a great opportunity to test guys, particularly young guys, by putting them up against Super 12 players and seeing how they would react. You can't get those tests anywhere else really and there will always be a couple of guys who over-achieve, sometimes just down to the test bringing something out of them, maybe just because of guys being injured and them getting their chance and taking it.

"But that's the whole point of touring and developing players and squads and flying across and playing two Tests with a squad of 25, and returning the day after, is less about development and more about filling stadiums and making a few quid. So I'm glad they're going back to bigger tours, but it's a shame we don't seem to be getting that in New Zealand."

Smith added: "It's not the end of the world and there are others places to tour so going to Australia and South Africa will be good for our players.

"But I feel it is a shame that we aren't getting a good tour to New Zealand because emotionally and culturally, New Zealand and Scotland have great links. When you go there as a player you really pick up on the heritage and the number of people who have a huge connection with us and pick up on the team. But life goes on."

• England have confirmed details for all summer tours until 2018, commencing with a three-Test series against South Africa in 2012.

Martin Johnson's side will then visit New Zealand in 2014 and Australia in 2016 before returning to South Africa in 2018.

All series will be contested across three Tests while itineraries in Argentina have been agreed for the Lions years of 2013 and 2017.