British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa may not take place next year if supporters are unable to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions, and host union chief executive Jurie Roux admitted that he would not. Having viewers would not be commercially viable. Rugby fans can book South Africa A Vs British And Irish Lions Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.
Roux also
said that postponing the tour to next fall was "highly unlikely" due
to the already messy nature of the global calendar, raising the possibility of
a delay to 2022 at the earliest, or even canceling it altogether. If the
current travel restrictions imposed on South Africa were in effect next summer,
Lions supporters would not be able to travel.
Roux is
optimistic that the situation will have improved by next July, but issued a
stern warning if it does not. Lions tours have traditionally been very
lucrative for the host country: the 2017 tour secured a profit of around £ 20
million for New Zealand rugby, while the Lions made £ 7 million.
A new
business model, with revenue split more evenly, was introduced for next year's
tour and last month Vodafone was featured as the main sponsor of the Lions in a
deal worth more than 6 million. With mechanisms in place for fans who bought
tickets for a refund, if the tour doesn't go on next year it could be hugely
damaging to the finances of both South Africa and the home nations.
Jurie Roux
"The
absence of spectators and the inability for people to travel would not make
this commercially viable and there would be a serious reconsideration of how we
will continue in terms of the tour, Roux said, announcing South Africa's ticket
pricing strategy for the tour on Tuesday. We are evaluating it weekly and
monthly."
Discussions
took place earlier this summer about the possibility of moving the tour to
October to align it with a new global calendar, but it was ultimately decided
that it would remain on its regular daylight saving time, and the Lions
confirmed the original dates of the tour.
Eight-game
tour last month. However, with French and English clubs turning down proposals
to permanently move the testing window from summer to fall, Roux does not
anticipate delaying next year's tour to October and November.
"It
would be unlikely to move the tour dates to a later stage next year, given the
decisions around the world calendar, he added. It would probably get
complicated with PRL, Pro14, and some other dates, which would make it very
unlikely."
The Lions
also remain optimistic the tour goes ahead as planned with an estimated 20,000
supporters making the trip. “As recently announced, we are fully intending for
the tour to go ahead as scheduled, but, as you would expect, SA Rugby, in
conjunction with the Lions, are contingency planning for all eventualities,”
said a Lions spokesperson.
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