Lions tour will go ahead — SA Rugby
• Quadrennial visit by the British and Irish team — with 40,000 fans — has potential to boost economy by R6.5bn
The cancellation of the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour of SA is a prospect too ghastly to contemplate. The country‚ according to an independent study‚ can potentially benefit from a R6.5bn shot in the arm from the tour‚ which will throw SA Rugby a timely lifeline.
The cancellation of the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour of SA is a prospect too ghastly to contemplate.
The country‚ according to an independent study‚ can potentially benefit from a R6.5bn shot in the arm from the tour‚ which will throw SA Rugby‚ already treading water‚ a timely lifeline.
Lions tours are huge money spinners because up to 40,000 travelling spectators pound cash registers on their quadrennial crusade. In 2017, New Zealand Rugby reported record profits on the back of the Lions’ tour of that country, amassing R371m. Moreover‚ the tour contributed R2.72bn to New Zealand’s GDP.
In 2013, the Lions tour of Australia contributed R1.77bn to the Australian economy.
Whether SA can rake in the profits as originally estimated is moot in a post-coronavirus environment in which air travel may warrant a second said.
It was suggested last weekend the tour may be in jeopardy, but SA Rugby president Mark Alexander was quick to allay those fears. “The date might change, but it will go ahead. It is important to the country.
“The country stands to make R6.5bn as a direct result of the tour‚” he said optimistically.
Already, newly re-elected World Rugby chair Bill Beaumont indicated the annual two
Test windows may run back-toback in 2021 as the world recovers from the fallout of Covid-19. A new global calendar is expected to kick into action in the aftermath of the pandemic.
By moving the British and Irish Lions tour from its July 3August 21 slot‚ rugby bosses will also avoid clashing with the Tokyo Olympics‚ another quadrennial spectacle that is in the balance. By moving the tour to September and October, organisers may also convince more fans to make the trip to a distinctly warmer climate.
SA Rugby clearly has a lot riding on the success of the 2021 tour. Apart from the cash injection‚ Lions tours carry prestige perhaps surpassed only by the Rugby World Cup.
Principally, though‚ they can do with the cash. If the tour gets the green light, the big migration south is likely to follow.
Former British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan succinctly put its value in commercial terms at the conclusion of the team’s last tour to SA in 2009: “If you can persuade 40,000 people to fly 9,600km to watch a rugby team‚ that’s not a bad business model.”
● Aled Walters, a key member of the Springboks’ World Cup coaching staff has left SA Rugby.
The Welshman‚ who was the head of athletic performance‚ will be released from his contract and will join an overseas club in June.
Walters‚ who joined the Springboks alongside former coach and current director of rugby Rassie Erasmus‚ has been an integral part of the Springbok coaching set-up.
The Boks have not wavered on their fitness levels in the past two years‚ and this can be attributed to Walters and the communication between the national team and franchises.
Erasmus said it is a blow for the Springboks to lose someone of Walters’ ability.
“Aled has made an enormous impact since joining the Springboks in 2018 and I know the whole squad will be sad to see him go‚” Erasmus said.
“It’s obviously sad to lose someone of Aled’s ability‚ but we understand the unprecedented times we are in bring about difficult challenges and we respect his wish to return to the UK.”
Walters holds a BSc in physical education and sports science from Loughborough University and an MSc in strength and conditioning from the University of Edinburgh. He worked for Taranaki in New Zealand‚ the Brumbies in Australia and Munster in Ireland, before joining the Boks with Erasmus in 2018.
“My tenure with the Springboks can be described as some of the best times I’ve had in rugby‚” said Walters.
“But these are uncertain times and the wish to be closer to families based in Wales and Ireland was a key consideration in making what was a very hard decision.”