The British and Irish Lions tour game against the Bulls on Saturday has been postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak. Due to cases in both camps, South Africa’s Test against Georgia on Friday is also under threat – including Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber.
Four Bulls players and one member of management returned positive tests. This combination along with their close contacts made it impossible for them to field a team. The warm-up game for the Lions will either be rescheduled or an alternative opponent will be found ahead of the three-match Test series against South Africa.
Meanwhile, with 11 positive cases among the Springbok party, including players Marvin Orie, Frans Steyn, Handre Pollard and Frans Malherbe South Africa’s second Test against Georgia is also under review. Along with a masseuse, Nienaber is among six members of South Africa management to have tested positive.
When the latest positive cases were revealed, the World Cup holders had already isolating for the second time in eight days on Monday following a positive coronavirus test by Lood de Jager.
Four members of the Georgian team have also tested positive. As quoted by Sky Sports, Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby said “These positive results are a setback and have underlined the danger of transmissibility of the delta variant.”
