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Breaking | Lions game this weekend postponed, Boks game v Georgia in doubt

The British and Irish Lions' game this Saturday with the Vodacom Bulls has been postponed with...



The British and Irish Lions' game this Saturday with the Vodacom Bulls has been postponed with a view to being rescheduled, as the Springboks' fixture against Georgia is also in doubt.

Four Bulls players and one member of their coaching team returned positive tests which made the game untenable, and attempts will be made to either reschedule or accommodate another opponent.

Due to the nature of this tour during the pandemic, provisions in the schedule allow for midweek matches to be put into the calendar when both teams agree.

The Springboks' game with Georgia is also in serious doubt, as four positives for the Georgian side have been addended to four additional Boks' positives in Marvin Orie, Frans Steyn, Handre Pollard and Frans Malherbe. Six of the Springboks' management have also tested positive, including head coach Jacques Nienaber.

That decision will be made on Wednesday morning.

“These positive results are a setback and have underlined the danger of transmissibility of the delta variant,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby. 

“The Springboks’ second Test against Georgia is now in serious doubt, but we will wait for the MAG to consider the data and we will make the final decision tomorrow. 

“The priority is to maintain the integrity of the Test series and we will continue to focus on that.”

The Lions’ match against the Cell C Sharks at Emirates Airline Park on Wednesday, KO 19h00 (18h00 BST) will take place as scheduled. 

Lions & Springboks

The news comes after South Africa cancelled training on Monday and went into isolation after Sale Sharks second row Lood de Jager returned a positive Covid-19 test.
A South African Rugby statement said: "Lood de Jager retuned a positive outcome in scheduled testing and, because of his close contact with a number of squad members, the entire group has gone into isolation."
“The players have been placed in preventative isolation prior to further PCR testing and a review of the testing data by the Medical Advisory Group.”

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