Reports from South Africa suggest this Saturday’s British & Irish Lions tour match against the Bulls in Pretoria has been thrown into severe doubt after several positive Covid tests in the South African team’s squad.
“Several” Bulls players returned positive Covid-19 results after routine testing as the Rainbow Cup finalists were set to enter their biosecure bubble on Monday night, according to South African website Supersport.com.
The story comes a day after the Springboks, who are scheduled to play the Lions in a three-Test series starting in Cape Town on July 24, suspended training on Monday following a positive test result for lock Lood de Jager. The world champions are due to play Georgia in Johannesburg on Friday night but head coach Jacques Nienaber was placed in isolation following de Jager’s positive and Tuesday’s scheduled team announcement was postponed until further notice with no confirmation of a return to training.
The Lions, themselves in a biosecure bubble at their Johannesburg hotel and nearby training base, are set to play the Cell C Sharks at Emirates Airlines Stadium on Wednesday evening before switching their focus to the Loftus Versfeld showdown with the Bulls, who are currently defending their Currie Cup title.
A cancellation this weekend would raise further questions about the viability of the 2021 tour given the public health emergency in the Gauteng region of South Africa, which includes both Johannesburg and Pretoria. There is little or no wiggle room in the schedule to find an alternative date if the Bulls game is abandoned this weekend.
The players who tested positive and another identified as a close contact are reported to have been placed in isolation, while the Medical Advisory Committee (MAG), comprising of medical experts from both the Lions and Springbok camps and the chief executives of both the tourists and SA Rugby, figure out a way forward for Saturday’s game.
The MAG are also investigating the Springboks’…