Springboks v British & Irish Lions UK Test schedule leaked?

Although it has been made clear that the fixture list is not confirmed and is subject to change, it appears we have more insight into the thinking into how the Springboks v British & Irish Lions series might be saved.

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With any suggestion of the tour taking place in South Africa as originally scheduled now off the table, it appears the only feasible solution is to hold it in the UK and Ireland.

That would mean no midweek matches against the South African “Super Rugby” franchises and would see the Springboks take a much larger squad than usual over to the UK.

The British & Irish Lions will continue their preparations with a match against Japan at Murrayfield (as previously confirmed).

The Springboks, who haven’t played a Test since 2 November 2019, would have a warm-up match against the USA followed by a second one against a French Barbarians side.

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While the USA are in the UK, the British & Irish Lions would take advantage of that fact to also play against the Eagles.

Similarly, both sides would also play the French Barbarians and Japan.

A match between the British & Irish Lions and South Africa ‘A’ would help coach Jacques Nienaber give his second-stringers a chance to stake a claim for starting Springbok spots and to iron out a few last-minute uncertainties in his thinking.

As previously reported, the initial three Tests would swell to four to add another money-spinner into the mix for the SA Rugby coffers which have been badly hit in recent times after losing out on hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup as well as the British & Irish Lions tour.

Those four Test would be played at (in order), Murrayfield (Edinburgh), Principality Stadium (Cardiff), Wembley (London) and Twickenham (London).

The dates for the proposed UK-based tour remain the same as what was originally decided upon for the SA tour.