Home British & Irish Lions tour to start and end in Johannesburg after radical itinerary revamp

British & Irish Lions tour to start and end in Johannesburg after radical itinerary revamp

The final British & Irish Lions itinerary for their much-anticipated tour of South Africa shows a radical revamp of what was originally confirmed.

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As reported by The South African website, all eight matches will take place in just two provinces – the Western Cape and Gauteng – to minimise travel risk in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the SA Rugby mag website, instead of kicking off proceedings against the Stormers in Cape Town, the tour will now start in Johannesburg with matches against the Lions and Sharks at Ellis Park.

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The British & Irish Lions will then play the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld before heading to Cape Town for three matches against South Africa ‘A’, the Stormers and the first Test – all at the Cape Town Stadium.

The British & Irish Lions will then return to Gauteng for the second and third Tests, reportedly both to be held at the FNB Stadium to maximise any spectator numbers.

The British & Irish Lions were originally not scheduled to play the Lions, while the match against a SA Invitational side has fallen away.

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The starting date for the tour, the first of South Africa since 2009, remains the same – 3 July – meaning the tour kicks off in exactly EIGHT weeks today.

In many respects the changes to the itinerary will suit the British & Irish Lions who will get two weeks to adjust to the altitude before heading to coast and then back to a not-so-unfamiliar highveld closure to their tour.

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Coach Warren Gatland hinted at the changes in a video on the official British & Irish Lions Twitter page earlier in the week when speaking about wearing masks and the impact of playing at altitude.

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