Murrayfield bid to be Lions’ den
SCOTTISH Rugby chiefs have promised the British and Irish Lions an ‘incredible weekend of rugby’ if Murrayfield is confirmed as the venue for next summer’s tour send-off.
The SRU’s chief operating officer, Dominic McKay, has confirmed they have bid to host a glamour friendly match before the touring side head for their threeTest series against world champions South Africa.
He insists reports are premature that the Edinburgh ground has beaten off competition from Wales and Ireland to stage the game, which is expected to be against Japan on June 26.
McKay said: “It’s hard to look too far into the future. We’re living in the here and now in terms of planning to look at getting the players back and fit, and hopefully playing games later in August or September.
“But whilst we’re also thinking about the here and now we have to take consideration of the longer-term.
“We’ve always said we’re in the market for working with partners to bring new events to Scotland.
“Some of those things we’re in the market for are things like the Lions.
“Before the virus, we put together an amazing bid that would see the Lions having an incredible weekend of rugby at BT Murrayfield before they head off on tour to South Africa. I know that bid’s been really well received by the Lions board.”
McKay added to the Official Scottish Rugby Podcast: “But, at the moment, it’s really just speculation, on the basis that there’s a lot of things that need to happen between now and the Lions tour.”