‘We’ll play the Lions anywhere’
FAF WANTS SERIES SAVED
WORLD CUP winner Faf de Klerk says he will support switching the Lions tour away from South Africa if that is the only way to save it.
The British & Irish Lions board meet today to try to find a way to keep the eight-match tour alive with no end in sight to the global pandemic.
Having fans travel to South Africa before a vaccine programme is rolled out there seems unthinkable, while staging games behind closed doors is financially unviable.
Postponing for a year is problematic, with national teams already booked in to tours tailored to fine-tuning their 2023World Cup preparations.
That appears to leave two options: cancellation or moving the series to the UK and Ireland.
Sale Sharks star De Klerk said: “Cancellation would be truly devastating. The Lions is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Everybody wants it to be played in South Africa – 100 per cent I do. It would be an amazing, iconic tour.
“But if it can’t be there and it can happen somewhere else, then that would still be a great outcome in these times.
“In those circumstances I’d be OK with it being moved to the UK and Ireland, or even to somewhere like Dubai. Anything but lose the opportunity.”
Incredibly, the Springboks have not played a match since beating England in a one-sided World Cup final 15 months ago.
“We were on such a high,” said influential scrum-half De Klerk, who last saw his parents in April.
“We had the nation excited about rugby and the Springboks. To lose the momentum is frustrating.
“But as player you need to be adaptable, both to conditions and circumstances.
“At the end of the day it’s about keeping people safe. The challenge for us when things do open up again is to get back to the level we were at.
“I don’t think it should take too long for us to click again.” First up for De Klerk, 29, is to get to know Alex Sanderson, who today completes the switch back to his former club Sale, going from assistant coach at Saracens to Sharks’ director of rugby. Sale lie fourth in the Premiership after six games, just five points off the pace, despite last month’s sudden departure of team boss Steve Diamond after 10 years in charge at the club.
“Dimes leaving was a shock,” said De Klerk. “It disrupted things and it took us a few weeks just to find our feet again. We’ll use the break we’ve been given to recharge our batteries and make sure we hit the ground running in a fortnight.”
Sale star De Klerk would be devastated to miss opportunity of facing the Lions this summer