Lions tour to South Africa to go ahead
● Next summer’s South Africa tour to go ahead as planned in July and August ● Gatland confident of series success
The British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa will go ahead as planned next year in the hope that the coronavirus outbreak in a country among the worst-affected in the world will have eased in 12 months.
The Lions and SA Rugby said the dates for the eight-match tour in July and August 2021, which features three Tests, were unchanged. The tour will start on 3 July with a game between the Lions and the Stormers in Cape Town. It ends on 7 August.
Two of the Tests between the Lions and the world champion Springboks will be in Johannesburg, with the other in Cape Town. Those cities are in the two provinces in South Africa that have the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. Currently, no contact sport is allowed to be played in South Africa and no fans are allowed to attend any sporting events.
South Africa has more than 298,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to the latest count by Johns Hopkins University in the United States. That’s the eighth-highest in the world. South Africa recently overtook Britain for total confirmed cases. Nearly 200,000 of the cases in South Africa are in the provinces where Johannesburg and Cape Town are situated.
The British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa next summer is to go ahead as scheduled, it has been confirmed.
International rugby is facing a fixture headache after much of 2020 has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic but the Lions tour will proceed as planned between 3 July and 7 August it is hoped. That overlaps with the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics (23 July8 August), which has a rugby element in the form of sevens which won’t affect the Lions.
It will be the third tour for head coach Warren Gatland, pictured, who is undefeated after series wins in Australia in 2013 and a draw with New Zealand in 2017. The Lions will play the opening match of their eight-fixture tour when they face Stormers at the new Cape Town Stadium on 3 July, with the first of the three Tests against the world-champion Springboks taking place at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium three weeks later.
The second Test is scheduled for 31 July at the Cape Town venue and the third for 7 August, back in Johannesburg at Emirates Airline Park.
Lions managing director Ben Calveley said in a statement: “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of disruption to the sporting calendar, but after extensive discussions we are now able to confirm that the tour dates are as previously announced.
“An enormous amount of planning, especially from a logistical perspective, goes into putting on a Lions series, so it was crucial that a decision was agreed upon in good time.
“I am particularly pleased that we are able to provide some clarity for all those Lions supporters eager to travel to South Africa next summer.”
Gatland added: “Lions tours are always unique, but to take on the world champions in their backyard will be something very special.
“Having toured there in 2009 [as assistant to Ian Mcgeechan] I know the scale of the task ahead of us – playing in South Africa presents a number of unique challenges such as playing at altitude, while the Boks will always be physical, aggressive and highly motivated.
“History tells you it’s a tough place to tour, but I am confident that we can go there and win.”
Jurie Roux, chief executive of SA Rugby, added: “We’re delighted to confirm the Tour dates remain the same.
“The whole of South Africa is looking forward to welcoming the Lions and we continue progressing our plans to provide travelling supporters with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
With the tour still a year away it is no surprise that the Lions and South Africa are keen to press on with the original plan but coronavirus continues to cast a cloud of uncertainty with no vaccine on the horizon and a precarious winter period to negotiate.
South Africa is one of the worst-hit countries in the world in terms of cases with more than 300,000, although it has so far reported only 4,346 deaths.
Two of the Tests between the Lions and the world champion Springboks will be in Johannesburg, with the other in Cape Town. Those cities are in the two provinces in South Africa that have the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. Currently, no contact sport is allowed to be played in South Africa and no fans are allowed to attend any sporting events.
South Africa’s strict lockdown regulations, which have included blanket alcohol bans, to stem the spread of the virus has had serious repercussions for SA Rugby’s business with no games played in more than three months.
Tours by Scotland and Georgia, planned for this month, were cancelled and SA Rugby said it had been forced to cut players’ salaries by between 25 and 43 per cent in an effort to save up to $70 million. All players were affected, including South Africa’s 2019 Rugby World Cup winners. With these financial pressures it is no surprise that South Africa will be desperate to have the goldmine of a Lions tour this time next year.
Since South Africa’s reintroduction to world sport following the end of apartheid the Lions have toured there twice and on both occasions the Springboks were world champions. The 1997 tour became an iconic symbol of rugby’s transition from amateur to professional and ended with a historic 2-1 win for Mcgeechan and Jim Telfer’s Lions in a Test series which saw Scots Tom Smith, Gregor Townsend and Alan Tait play key roles. It also spawned the cult classic documentary Living With The Lions which included memorable behindthe-scenes footage, including the moment Doddie Weir was told his tour was over with a knee injury.
Mcgeechan returned to lead the 2009 tour with Gatland as his No 2. The Boks wrapped up the series by winning the first two Tests before the Lions hit back with a consolation win in the dead rubber.
“Lions tours are always unique, but to take on the world champions in their backyard will be something very special”
WARREN GATLAND