British Lions tour could be called off
travel restrictions may make the trip ‘commercially unviable’ south Africa union chief says delaying Tests ‘highly unlikely’
The British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa could be postponed or even cancelled if Covid-19 travel restrictions remain in place, Jurie Roux, the host union’s chief executive, has warned.
The prospect of a ban on the estimated 20,000 travelling support
ers or matches being played behind closed doors would make the tour “commercially unviable” according to Roux.
At present, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all but essential travel to South Africa, which has recorded nearly 590,000 coronavirus cases, the fifth highest total in the world.
Roux remains optimistic the tour will go ahead with the South African government this week relaxing lockdown restrictions that would allow matches behind closed doors.
However, he said that it would be
“highly unlikely” for the tour to be moved to later in the year, given the congested calendar. Given how few defenders the Lions have in the corridors of power, the chances of the tour finding a home in 2022 would seem equally remote.
Last month, organisers said the tour would go ahead as originally planned, with the first Test scheduled for July 24, and Roux suggested that they were still working towards a best-case scenario.
“We are obviously looking at a number of different contingencies around what happens if Covid-19 continues in the way that it currently does,” Roux said at a press conference yesterday. “First prize is that that doesn’t happen. Second prize is that there are some restrictions and we can manage in those.
“To be fair, no spectators and an inability for people to travel would commercially not make this viable and there would be a serious reconsideration on how we then continue in terms of the tour.”
For their part, the Lions said last night via a spokesman: “As recently announced, we are fully intending for the Tour to go ahead as scheduled, but, as you would expect, SA Rugby, in conjunction with the Lions, are contingency planning for all eventualities.”
A postponement or cancellation would be financially calamitous for both the South African Rugby Union and the Lions. The 2017 tour generated a £20million profit for the New Zealand Rugby Union and £7million for the Lions, which is split between the home unions.
The Daily Telegraph understands demand for tickets from home fans is on course to outstrip previous tours.
The South African Rugby Union yesterday announced that tickets would be on sale for as little as £4; however Roux said that any tickets bought would be reimbursed in the event of matches not going ahead.