2021 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa could be cancelled to save home unions - report
Next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa could be delayed or cancelled entirely as the four Home Nations battle to stay afloat financially, according to a report out of the UK.
The Mirror claims that the financial strain of the coronavirus outbreak has left England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales all desperate to play both their November tests and their remaining Six Nations fixtures that were postponed earlier this year.
The pandemic has left those unions – as well as all of rugby worldwide – in a dire economic position, with The Mirror suggesting that the four nations could be looking at a £80m deficit should those matches not go ahead.
Fears of bankruptcy among the Irish, Scottish and Welsh unions have reportedly led to discussions between officials about creating contingency plans to re-schedule home fixtures next year as a top priority in an effort to generate some much needed revenue.
That would, in turn, force the 2021 Lions tour to be postponed or even scrapped entirely as the home unions scramble to stay afloat.
COVID-19 has already seen plenty of rugby delayed or canned this year, with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales’ July tours of Japan, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand under severe threat of cancellation.
The British and Irish nations are also scheduled to host the likes of the All Blacks, Wallabies, Springboks, Argentina, Japan, Fiji and Tonga in November in the same international window that the four delayed Six Nations fixtures are set to take place.
While it’s still unclear whether these matches will go ahead, The Mirror reports that those home fixtures can generate between £4m to £8m for the host side, as much as four times the amount each Home Nation can make from a Lions tour.
Adding to the dilemma is the predicament surrounding the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, which have been pushed back a year to clash with the scheduled Lions tour.
That will force players from South Africa and the Home Nations to weigh up whether to chase an Olympic gold medal in sevens, or to pursue their Lions ambitions.
The Sunwolves may have played their last match of Super Rugby, and it now appears they won't be playing in a proposed new Japanese domestic competition either.https://t.co/A1Cnjxw1dM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 4, 2020
A delayed tour, however, could free up players from both camps to challenge for both campaigns, although that would complicate contractual matters with Lions head coach Warren Gatland.
The former Ireland and Wales boss was granted a specific one-year sabbatical clause to take charge of a third consecutive Lions tour as part of his four-year deal with the Chiefs in Super Rugby.
The postponement of the eight-match tour, though, would throw a spanner in the works – not only for Gatland and both sets of players, but also for the estimated 35,000 Lions fans who were expected to have travelled to South Africa for the series.
Former Wales and Lions great Phil Bennett told The Mirror it would be “heart-breaking” if the upcoming tour was forced into cancellation, but stressed that a Lions series would be no good if it was to the detriment of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
“We are talking about survival of the game itself. Those nations have to get money in through hosting international games in order to keep the game going in those countries,” he said.
“If the unions go bankrupt, then the grass roots doesn’t get looked after and rugby at that level could simply die.
“People in Wales are already talking about dozens of clubs disappearing because there is no income coming in.”
Comments on RugbyPass
South Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to comments