Next year’s British and Irish Lions tour of South
Africa could be delayed or cancelled entirely as the four Home Nations
battle to stay afloat financially, according to a report out of the UK.
The Mirror claims that the financial strain of the
coronavirus outbreak has left England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales all
desperate to play both their November tests and their remaining Six
Nations fixtures that were postponed earlier this year. Rugby fans can
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The pandemic has left those unions as well as all of rugby
worldwide in a dire economic position; with The Mirror suggesting
that the four nations could be looking at a £80m deficit should those matches
not go ahead.
Fears of bankruptcy among the Irish, Scottish and Welsh
unions have reportedly led to discussions between officials about creating
contingency plans to re-schedule home fixtures next year as a top priority in
an effort to generate some much needed revenue.
That would, in turn, force the 2021 Lions tour to be
postponed or even scrapped entirely as the home unions scramble to stay afloat.
COVID-19 has already seen plenty of rugby delayed or canned
this year, with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales’ July tours of Japan,
Australia, South Africa and New Zealand under severe threat of
cancellation.
The British and Irish nations are also scheduled to host the
likes of the All Blacks, Wallabies, Springboks, Argentina, Japan, Fiji
and Tonga in November in the same international window that the four
delayed Six Nations fixtures are set to take place.
While it’s still unclear whether these matches will go
ahead, The Mirror reports that those home fixtures can generate
between £4m to £8m for the host side, as much as four times the amount each
Home Nation can make from a Lions tour.
Adding to the dilemma is the predicament surrounding the
postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, which have been pushed back a year to clash
with the scheduled Lions tour.
That will force players from South Africa and the Home
Nations to weigh up whether to chase an Olympic gold medal in sevens, or to
pursue their Lions ambitions.
A delayed tour, however, could free up players from both
camps to challenge for both campaigns, although that would complicate
contractual matters with Lions head coach Warren Gatland.
The former Ireland and Wales boss was granted a
specific one-year sabbatical clause to take charge of a third consecutive Lions
tour as part of his four-year deal with the Chiefs in Super Rugby.
The postponement of the eight-match tour, though, would throw
a spanner in the works – not only for Gatland and both sets of players, but
also for the estimated 35,000 Lions fans who were expected to have travelled to
South Africa for the series.
Former Wales and Lions great Phil Bennett told The
Mirror it would be “heart-breaking” if the upcoming tour was forced into
cancellation, but stressed that a Lions series would be no good if it was to
the detriment of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
“We are talking about survival of the game itself. Those
nations have to get money in through hosting international games in order to
keep the game going in those countries,” he said.
“If the unions go bankrupt, then the grass roots don’t get
looked after and rugby at that level could simply die.
“People in Wales are already talking about dozens of clubs
disappearing because there is no income coming in.”
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