Money-spinner British and Irish Lions event in doubt
British and Irish Lions’ visit in jeopardy
Having already seen their hopes of staging a Test against Georgia this year go up in smoke, Port Elizabeth’s dream of staging a prized visit by the British and Irish Lions next year is also in jeopardy.
The highly-anticipated three-Test match series against the Springboks in SA next year could become Covid-19’s next victim.
If the tour is scrapped or cancelled, it could scupper the Lions’ visit to Port Elizabeth to play an SA Invitational side at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on July 7 next year.
The midweek game would attract a crowd in excess of 30,000 fans and would be a money-spinner for Bay rugby and business.
With unions in the UK battling for financial survival, more emphasis is expected to be placed on home Tests in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
This is because the Lions tour would be of greater financial benefit to SA than to the visitors.
The series with the Springboks has already been hit by the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics, which will now compete for exposure over three weekends of the Bok Tests.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought rugby to a halt and put the future of the professional tier in doubt as it grapples with a lack of funding.
Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland are desperate to play their autumn Tests and matches held over from this season’s Six Nations.
If those games do not go ahead — or are played behind closed doors — the home countries are in danger of falling into an £80m (R1.9bn) black hole, England’s Mirror newspaper reported.
It alleged some officials are already discussing how it could bankrupt the Welsh, Scottish and Irish unions and force them, as well as England, to make drastic plans and reschedule home Tests next year as a top priority in an effort to stay afloat.
A survival plan would mean the more lucrative home Tests elbowing aside the Lions tour, which would be postponed for a year, or even scrapped completely.
The Welsh Rugby Union rakes in about £4m (R94m) per home fixture if it is played in front of a 74,000 crowd at the Principality Stadium.
Wales are scheduled to face Japan and the All Blacks (twice) during an end-of-season tour but it appears highly unlikely to take place because of the Covid-19 virus.
They are also due to host Fiji, New Zealand, Argentina and SA in November, as well as fitting in the postponed Six Nations clash with Scotland.
But it is unclear whether any of those fixtures will take place on their due dates, with the possibility they could be pushed back.
Test rugby is the prime generator of money to bankroll the professional club game and is expected to take precedence when the pandemic is under control and sport eventually gets the green light to restart.
Some players across the four nations have already been placed on leave, while others have suffered 25% wage cuts.
The Lions’ eight-match tour of SA had been expected to earn £30m (R705m) but the hosts keep most of the revenue from TV money and gate receipts.
With much of the expected £30m (R705m) gobbled up by SA and huge costs paid out by the Lions for the use of some 40 players, Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland only bank about £2m (R47m) each, including money raised from sponsorship deals.
So each country has to consider prioritising fitting moneyspinning home Test matches into a congested calendar.
Up to 35,000 Lions supporters had been expected to make the trip to SA but the effects of the coronavirus could slash that figure.
A delayed tour could also prove complicated for Lions head coach Warren Gatland, who has a specific one-year sabbatical written into his contract with the Chiefs Super Rugby team in New Zealand.
Wales and Lions great Phil Bennett, who ripped the Springboks apart with his devastating running during the cream of British and Irish rugby’s invincible tour of 1974, said it would be “heartbreaking for current players” if it was shelved.
But he said: “It’s no good the Lions tour going ahead if Wales, Scotland and Ireland are going to go bankrupt.
“We are talking about survival of the game itself.
“Those nations have to get money in through hosting international games in order to keep the game going in those countries.
“If the unions go bankrupt, then the grass roots doesn’t get looked after and rugby at that level could simply die.
“People in Wales are already talking about dozens of clubs disappearing because there is no income coming in.”