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SA Rugby and the British & Irish Lions confirmed on Wednesday that the 2021 tour to South Africa will go ahead as scheduled.
The eagerly awaited series visits some of the most impressive stadiums in world sport and culminates in three Test matches against the newly crowned Rugby World Cup champions, the Springboks.
The eight-game tour kicks off on Saturday 3 July 2021 when the Lions play Vodacom Super Rugby’s DHL Stormers in Cape Town.
Three weeks later the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg will host the first Test – a venue which last hosted the Springboks in 2013.
The second Test follows on Saturday 31 July at the Cape Town Stadium before the tourists return to Gauteng for the final Test on Saturday 7 August at Emirates Airline Park.
Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, was delighted to confirm the tour dates remain unchanged. “This will be the British & Irish Lions’ third tour since the game turned professional, with them winning in 1997 and us taking the spoils in 2009. On every occasion the Springboks took the field as reigning Rugby World Cup champions and the 2021 tour is already shaping up to be one for the ages.”
Ben Calveley, British & Irish Lions managing director, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of disruption to the sporting calendar, but after extensive discussions we are now able to confirm that the Tour dates are as previously announced. An enormous amount of planning, especially from a logistical perspective, goes into putting on a Lions series, so it was crucial that a decision was agreed upon in good time.”
The British & Irish Lions have toured South Africa on 13 previous occasions, with the first Tour taking place in 1891. In that time, the Lions have won four Test series, lost eight with one drawn. Their overall record against the Springboks is played 46, won 17, lost 23 and drawn six.
Full 2021 tour schedule:
