FAF: LET US PLAY LIONS ..WHEREVER!

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 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, staging games behind closed doors is financially unviable.

Postponing for a year is problematic, with national teams already booked into tours tailored to fine-tuning their 2023 World Cup preparations.

Which appears to leave two options: cancellation or moving the series to the UK and Ireland.

Sale Sharks star De Klerk (above) said: “Cancellation would be truly devastating. The Lions is a once-in-alifetime opportunity.

“Everybody wants it to be played in South Africa. It would be an amazing tour.

“But if it can’t be there and it can happen elsewhere, that would still be a great outcome.

“I’d be OK with it being moved to the UK and Ireland, even to somewhere like Dubai. Anything but lose the opportunity.”

Incredibly, the Springboks have not had a match since beating England in a one-sided World Cup final 15 months ago.

“We were on such a high,” said De Klerk, who last saw his parents back in April. “We had the nation excited about rugby and the Springboks. To lose the momentum is frustrating.

“But, as a player, you need to be adaptable, both to conditions and circumstances. The challenge for us when things do open up again is to get back to the level we were.”

First up for De Klerk, 29, is to get to know Alex Sanderson (above), who today completes the switch back to his former club Sale, going from assistant coach at Saracens to Sharks’ main man.

Sale lie fourth in the Premiership, just five points off the pace, despite last month’s sudden departure of team boss Steve Diamond.

“Dimes leaving was a shock, it disrupted things and it took us a few weeks just to find our feet again,” said De Klerk.