Lions tour gets green light from SA government

NEWS: The South African government has confirmed that the British and Irish Lions series will go ahead, despite the country moving to a level four lockdown.

Due to a third Covid-19 wave in South Africa, on Sunday President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country will move to level four restrictions on Monday for the next two weeks.

After the announcement, there was some confusion on whether the B&I Lions tour will go ahead because of the restrictions.

However, in a government gazette released on Monday, it was confirmed that professional sporting events are still allowed.

Boks' Covid scare

On Sunday, the Springboks cancelled a planned training session in Johannesburg as a precautionary measure, when scheduled testing protocols returned three positive COVID-19 test results.

In a statement, SA Rugby said three players tested positive for the virus "following stringent real-time polymerase chain reaction testing procedures" on arrival at the team base.

"Team management immediately put the squad into self-isolation as a precaution until specialist medical advice is sought from the Lions Series Medical Advisory Group," the statement said.

On Monday, the Springboks cancelled their online media conference "as the team await recommendations from the Lions Series Medical Advisory Group".