Covid: Griquas admit ‘uncertainty’ over Lions match is not ideal

The Griquas Rugby Union have admitted to experiencing “an amount of uncertainty” over whether their Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Lions at Ellis Park on Friday night should take place.

Arni van Rooyen, the Chief Executive Officer of the Griquas Rugby Union, said on Tuesday that while the situation was far from ideal he did have sympathy for the Lions and the predicament they find themselves in.

“Fortunately all our players’ tests came back clean, so we are ready to play this weekend,” said Van Rooyen.

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The Lions were due to undergo further Covid-19 testing on Tuesday after 11 players were withdrawn last week which resulted in their game against the Cheetahs being called off.

Ideally Griquas don’t want to get caught up in a similar situation as the Cheetahs found themselves last Saturday. They’d already travelled to Johannesburg from Bloemfontein but were informed four hours before kickoff that the game was off.

“The Lions have informed us that they will let us know on Wednesday, at the latest, on the outcome of their tests,” said Van Rooyen.

“Our plan is to depart (Kimberley) on Thursday with a bus, if the game goes ahead as planned,” he said.

Griquas lost their opening two matches 30-23 to the Bulls at Loftus and 27-21 to the Pumas in Kimberley before having a bye last week and are keen to get playing again.

“So, if we know for certain on Wednesday what’s happening, then we can have peace of mind to continue with our travel arrangements. But, this sort of uncertainty is obviously not great.”

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