2021 British & Irish Lions tour will take place in South Africa, not UK

The British & Irish Lions tour is set to go ahead in South Africa this summer, with an announcement expected by Friday.

This week has been viewed by both the Lions board and the SA Rugby as the cut-off point for a decision to be made on the tour’s details, as it faces the complications rising from the pandemic.

The Lions first announced in January that its board would be meeting throughout January and February to assess its options, which expanded into contingency plans for the series to be held in the UK due to a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 in South Africa.

Rugby Australia also offered to open its venues to hosting both the Lions and Springboks in Australia with the promise of raising £10m.

But that offer together with the prospect of a UK tour that would have matches played in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin have now been turned down, with Warren Gatland to take his squad to South Africa as originally planned for July and August of 2021.

Uncertainty around crowds remain due to South Africa being in the infant stages of its vaccination rollout programme, a matter which had fuelled the Lions’ decision to unsuccessfully seek the UK government to underwrite a ‘tour’ held in Britain and Ireland.

The Daily Mail has reported any matches played in South Africa would be held behind closed doors.

The eight-match tour, preceded by the Lions hosting Japan at Murrayfield on June 26, will have to be finalised without the input of Lions managing director Ben Calveley.

Calveley took the position in 2018 and was key to the appointment of Gatland for a third-straight tour as head coach, as well as formalising plans to put a Women’s British & Irish Lions squad together earlier this month.

It has been reported he will stand down from his duties on a temporary basis due to medical grounds, with the WRU’s chief executive Martyn Phillips air-dropped in to take charge.