British and Irish Lions series ‘not commercially viable’ without fans as South Africa weigh up options

Tour is set to go ahead as planned across July and August next year, but South Africa Rugby will keep a close eye on the situation regarding coronavirus as staging games behind closed doors would not be an option

Wednesday 19 August 2020 12:54 BST
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British and Irish Lions fans are being put up by their New Zealand counterparts
British and Irish Lions fans are being put up by their New Zealand counterparts

The British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa could fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic if travelling fans are prevented from attending.

That is the warning from South Africa Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux, ahead of next year's tour which is scheduled to start with a first Test on 24 July.

Roux told a press conference: "There has been some talk of moving it out (to a new date), but our travel advice is that by June/July, we should be at what is deemed to be normal international travel.

"But we are monitoring it on a monthly basis. Travelling for international events will likely still be under more pressure than pre-Covid (in July 2021).

"No spectators and people not being able to travel would not make this commercially viable and then we would discuss how we continue with the tour."

South Africa Rugby announced on Tuesday that tickets for the Lions series will go on sale from as little as £4, with the cheapest seats for the three-Test series set to cost £22, scaling up to the most expensive Category A seats of £131.

PA

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