Questions remain as British and Irish Lions arrive in SA

The British and Irish Lions have touched down in Johannesburg ahead of their eight-match tour of South Africa.

After being delayed for two hours in Edinburgh before finally taking off on Sunday night, the Lions arrived in Joburg on Monday morning at 9.29am with several questions about the tour still being asked.

And we’re off ????

South Africa ????????

Here. We. Come.

✈️ @British_Airways #LionsRugby #CastleLionsSeries pic.twitter.com/yfmCwTz0NP

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 27, 2021

It is understood the Lions may be considering requesting that the entire tour be moved to Cape Town.

Right now the Lions are set to stay in Joburg for the matches on the highveld and in Cape Town for three matches there. This is already a change from the original schedule which would have seen the Lions also play in Durban, Gqeberha and Mbombela.

No official announcement has been made in this regard.

Gauteng – home to Joburg and Pretoria where the Lions are due to play five of their matches – is the new epicentre of the third wave of the coronavirus that has hit South Africa in recent weeks.

Hello South Africa ????????

We’ve landed ????#LionsRugby #CastleLionsSeries pic.twitter.com/1C7LqESSwU

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2021

Both the Springboks and Lions squads will be confined to a bio-secure bubble for the duration of the tour – be it in Joburg or Cape Town.

Right now, no spectators will be allowed into the grounds, but that has always been the case and is not due to the country moving to level 4 of a national lockdown, as announced by the president on Sunday – amid the rising number of Covid cases in the country.

There are also questions about the health and well-being of the Springbok players. On Sunday SA Rugby announced the Boks were cancelling a training session in Joburg after three squad members tested positive for Covid.

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And on Monday, the Bok management announced they were also cancelling a scheduled press briefing (even though it would have been done virtually) as “the team awaits recommendations from the Castle Lager Lions Series Medical Advisory Group. We will communicate any developments in due course.”

The Boks are set to name their first team since playing in the World Cup final in Japan in 2019 on Tuesday ahead of Friday’s match against Georgia in Pretoria.

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On Sunday Bok boss Rassie Erasmus said he hoped the matches against Georgia would go ahead following the finding that Vincent Koch, Herchell Jantjies and Sbu Nkosi had tested positive for Covid. The entire Bok squad is currently in isolation.