Australia in ‘game-changing’ Lions offer
South Africa and tourists guaranteed to make a profit Board expected to reach a final decision within 10 days
Rugby Australia has made a “gamechanging” intervention over the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa by offering to underwrite the cost of playing Down Under.
It is understood that Rugby Australia’s offer of a minimum guarantee, which has government backing, would ensure a profitable return for both the Lions and South Africa – even if a match had to be played behind closed doors because of a short-notice lockdown.
The offer would effectively remove the financial risk of relocating the tour to Australia, which has been seen as the main stumbling block to the plan for three Tests to be played in front of capacity crowds at major stadiums in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.
“This is a potential gamechanger,” said one source. “There is so much to like about the Australia option and it would be very popular with the players because it would feel like a proper tour. The sticking point was making the numbers work. With a minimum guarantee from Rugby Australia, that risk would effectively be removed.”
It is understood that Rugby Australia’s commercial team made a presentation to Lions officials on Tuesday to outline the plan and addressed key financial issues, including any impact that switching would have on key sponsors.
Rugby Australia is confident that staging the tour would be a huge commercial success for both South Africa and the Lions and give the players the closest experience to a traditional tour.
If the tour were to be staged in South Africa, it would almost certainly be behind closed doors.
The Lions have asked the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to underwrite the series should it be switched to the United Kingdom. That option, which received a boost on Monday when the lockdown roadmap suggested crowds might be allowed to attend major sporting events by July, would not be viable without the costs being underwritten because of the continuing uncertainty about the situation.
However, with no guarantee of financial support, the fact that Rugby Australia moved first with a firm offer could prove decisive, with the Lions board expected to make a final decision in the next 10 days.
Hamish Mclennan, the chairman of Rugby Australia, said his team were ready if given the green light by the Lions board. “The next thing we will endeavour to do is to give South Africa and the Lions a minimum guarantee to cover the costs of the tour and return a profit and we are confident that we can help with replacement sponsors if key partners don’t wish to support the Lions in Australia,” said Mclennan.
“We will continue the ethos of a Lions tour played in the southern hemisphere.”