British and Irish Lions players wanting to go home early because they missed test selection will be made to stay on tour, coach Graham Henry said today.
"That's not part of the deal," Henry said. "There's a bigger picture to be seen and I'm sure people can see that."
Henry said he recognised that some of the 37 players on tour would not play again after Tuesday's match against the ACT Brumbies with only the second and third tests against Australia to come on July 7th and 14th.
But he said everyone was expected to continue training up until the final test in case they were needed.
"You never know what's going to happen in the build-up to test matches," he said. "So everyone has to keep on their toes and be prepared to play test match rugby right through to the final test.
"It's not about the 22 [test squad], it's about the 60-odd people who here are doing their best to ensure we win a series in Australia."
Reuters