World Rugby vice-chairperson Bernard Laporte said a decision on whether the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa will go ahead will be made at the end of March.
World Rugby, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and the British and Irish Lions have waited as long as possible to make the decision, but with South Africa hit with a second wave of the coronavirus and time fast running out with the tour scheduled for July, organisers look set to be forced to now make a call in as little as six weeks or so.
There have been options to save the tour should the country’s coronavirus situation does not subside in time for South Africa to successfully host the tour, but none have been viable from a South African perspective, like Rugby Australia audaciously putting its hand up to host the tour should SA fail this year.
“We decided at World Rugby to firstly decide if the tours will take place or not, at the end of March,” said Laporte.
“We need time to turn things around, but I think France will go to Australia and Italy will go to New Zealand, seeing they are the two trips posing questions. The Lions, too, of course,” he added, alluding to the other test match-ups scheduled for July – pitting France-Australia with New Zealand scheduled to face Italy and Fiji.
According to the vice-chairperson, a venue change is a leading solution, but taking the tour to Australia seems highly unlikely.
“They [the Lions] might play in Europe and it would be a good thing,” he explained.
“If we’re told we have to quarantine [in Australia] for 14 days in a room, it’s not possible. Because we [France] arrive the day after the Top 14 final to [prepare to] play the first game,” he added.
Should the July tests be cancelled, Laporte hinted that there would still be rugby to help with cash flow and to give players game time ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.
“Friendlies would be there to make money and because a coach needs games two years out from a Rugby World Cup.”
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