Rugby: SA Rugby and British & Irish Lions confirm revised tour schedule! [update]

update (21 July 2021): SA Rugby and the British & Irish Lions confirmed on 20 July 2021 that agreement had been reached to conclude the Castle Lager Lions Series in Cape Town. The Series was scheduled to return to Johannesburg following the first Test in Cape Town on Saturday. All three test matches will now take place at the Cape Town Stadium (24 July 2021, 31 July 2021 and 07 August 2021). According to SA Rugby, the decision to remain in Cape Town was made following extensive consultation with medical experts on the risks associated with the delta variant of Covid-19.

update (01 July 2021): The kick-off in the Castle Lager Lions Series match between the Cell C Sharks and the British & Irish Lions at Emirates Arline Park in Johannesburg on 07 July 2021 has been brought forward by an hour to 19:00 (18:00 BST).

The South African Rugby Union (also known as SA Rugby) and the British & Irish Lions have confirmed a revised Castle Lager Lions Series fixture list and venues. In order to minimise the risks of disruption that could be caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, all eight matches of the tour in South Africa will be played in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. The schedule accommodates stable team bases and training venues and significantly reduces travel.
The British & Irish Lions Tour of South Africa 2021 ("Castle Lager Lions Series") will now kick off in Gauteng with three matches against provincial opposition in Johannesburg and Pretoria before moving to Cape Town for two more warm-up matches before the first test at Cape Town Stadium on 24 July 2021. The Castle Lager Lions Series then returns to Johannesburg for the second and third tests at the FNB Stadium. There is one team change in the revised schedule with the Emirates Lions replacing the South Africa Invitational team. The adjustment was made to reduce the risks associated with drawing a squad from around the country.  

Photo by Alberto Di Maria on Unsplash

SA Rugby is organising all games in the schedule to comply with the regulations on attendance as will apply at the time of play. All ticket holders for the original schedule will receive a full refund. SA Rugby also confirmed that South African resident ticket holders would have first right to purchase tickets for the revised schedule if restrictions on attendance at sports events were lifted.

The full Castle Lager Lions Series 2021 is:

• 03 July 2021: Emirates Lions v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)
• 07 July 2021: Cell C Sharks v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg) kick off 20:00 (SAT) / 19:00 (BST) 19:00 (SAT) / 18:00 (BST)
• 10 July 2021: Vodacom Bulls v The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)
• 14 July 2021: South Africa ‘A’ v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) kick off 20:00 (SAT) / 19:00 (BST)
• 17 July 2021: DHL Stormers v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)
• 24 July 2021: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (1st test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)
• 31 July 2021: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (2nd test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)
• 07 August 2021: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (3rd test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) kick off 18:00 (SAT) / 17:00 (BST)