Revised Olympic dates clash with Lions tour to South Africa

The newly-announced dates for the Tokyo Olympics, which have been pushed back to 2021, will directly clash with the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

The games were set to take place in July 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been postponed by a year to a 2021 kick-off.

Olympics and Lions tour to overlap

On Monday, it was revealed that the planet’s biggest sports event will run between 23 July and 8 August 2021.

The revised start date is in the middle of the Lions’ tour, which begins on 3 July, ending on 7 August.

The Lions kick off their tour with matches against all four of South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises, as well as a clash an SA Invitational XV at Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth. This is followed by the main event – a three-match Test series against the Springboks.

Following the announcement of the new dates for the Olympics, the tour’s organisers say they will not reschedule any matches.

“The priority right now has to be the safety and wellbeing of all those affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic,” Ben Calveley, Lions Managing Director, said. “We are determined to play our part in what will be an extraordinary summer of sport.

There should not be any direct clashes with Lions matches and Olympic events given the time difference between South Africa and Tokyo, so fans should not miss out on any action. “We are expecting a fantastic series against the world champions.”

Dilemma for Olympic hopefuls

While fans can get the best of both without much of a fuss, the same cannot be said for some players who will be eyeing a spot in either Blitzboks’ Olympic squad or the Springbok setup.

In the previous games in Rio de Janeiro, South Africa took a squad featuring the likes of Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh, both capped by the Springboks, as well as current World Cup-winning Boks Cheslin Kolbe and Kwagga Smith.

Both Kolbe and Smith might have been hoping to make both squads before the Olympics were pushed back.

Also in a bit of a dilemma are recent Fifteens converts in Rosko Specman, Ruhan Nel and Seabelo Senatla who, if form permits, could push for Springbok spot.

South Africa won bronze in Rio in what was rugby’s re-entry into the Olympics.