No fans will be allowed into stadiums when the Lions tour South Africa from Monday because of Covid-19 concerns. Three Springbok players meanwhile have tested positive, forcing the cancellation of a training session. Picture: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
The British and Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa suffered a setback before it had started following the confirmation on Sunday by SA Rugby that three Springbok players had returned positive Covid tests.
The Lions are supposed to arrive in South Africa on Monday morning for an eight-match tour, which includes three Test against the Springboks, at a time when Covid cases are on the increase in the country.
The three players who were named by the Springboks on Sunday afternoon as being positive are Vincent Koch, Sbu Nkosi and Herschel Jantjies.
Already the Lions and SA Rugby have changed the tour schedule with matches to now be played in only three centres – Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria. No fans will be allowed in the stadiums or at any training sessions.
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The original schedule included matches in Mbombela, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
The Lions and Springboks will now stay in bio-secure bubbles in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Springboks on Sunday cancelled their planned training session in Johannesburg as a precautionary measure when scheduled testing protocols returned three positive Covid-19 test results when the team assembled on Saturday.
SA Rugby said in a statement the players tested positive “on arrival at the team base”, suggesting the players came into the squad in recent days and were not part of the group that has been training in Bloemfontein from the outset.
The entire Bok squad is now in isolation as a precaution until “specialist medical advice is sought from the Lions Series Medical Advisory Group (MAG).”
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A decision on further team activities will be made shortly.
The Bok squad that had been in camp in Bloemfontein was tested three times a week.
The Boks, who haven’t played any Test rugby since winning the World Cup in Japan in November 2019, are due to play their first game in nearly two years this Friday, against Georgia in the first of two Tests. The teams are due to meet the following Friday as well.
The Tests between the Boks and Lions are scheduled for July 24 and 31 and August 7.
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