Will the British and Irish Lions, and all their fans, tour to South Africa later this year, or will the Australians get the best of the series? Picture: Getty Images
SA Rugby have strongly dismissed misleading reports from the United Kingdom that two of the three Test matches against the British and Irish Lions in South Africa next year have sold out.
According to a report in the Telegraph the Tests at the Cape Town Stadium and Ellis Park Test “had been sold out within a day of the sales being opened.”
“There’s no way that it’s sold out; absolutely not true,” said a SA Rugby spokesperson on Tuesday.
“How can it be sold out if the ballot registration for tickets only closes at midnight on September 16 and only afterwards will the allocation of tickets be made; it’s just not logic,” the spokesperson said.
“If supporters want to verify any details they must rather go to www.lionstour2021.co.za to make sure of what the real situation is,” the spokesperson said.
The three Test matches are scheduled for July 24 at the FNB Stadium, July 31 at the Cape Town Stadium and August 7 at Ellis Park.
The eight-match tour start on July 3 with a game against the Stormers, while the tourists will also play against the Sharks and the Bulls.
All five non-Test games will be concluded by the time the opening Test is played at the 90 000-seater FNB Stadium in Nasrec.
“To register for tickets online is now the next important step for supporters to apply for their tickets,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“More tickets will be available to home fans than to overseas fans. We want to meet them (the Lions) with an Army of Green to combat the Sea of Red.”
Roux emphasised that it was critical for South Africans to note that there was only one route to secure tickets – by entering the online ballot on www.lionstour2021.co.za.
Tickets will not be available at match venues, through provincial unions or at the usual retails outlets and if anyone answered an online advertisement for Lions tickets, they were in danger of being defrauded, exploited and left ticketless.
“There is massive interest in the tour and we expect it to be a hugely popular occasion, as witnessed by the many thousands of supporters who have already pre-registered for the online ticket ballot,” added Roux.
“We have had large-scale interest and fans will all receive an email with a link to the ticket site after the ballot opened,” said Roux.
Full 2021 Tour schedule:
Saturday July 3: British & Irish Lions v Stormers – Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Wednesday July 7: British & Irish Lions v South Africa ‘Invitational’ – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Saturday July 10: British & Irish Lions v Sharks – Jonsson Kings Park, Durban
Wednesday July 14: British & Irish Lions v South Africa ‘A’ Team – Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Saturday July 17: British & Irish Lions v Bulls – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Saturday July 24 (first Test): Springboks v British & Irish Lions – FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Saturday July 31 (second Test): Springboks v British & Irish Lions – Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Saturday August 7 (third Test): Springboks v British & Irish Lions – Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
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