The British and Irish Lions 2021 tour of South Africa is a hotly anticipated event and fans have now discovered the dates of all eight games and who they will face.
The tour will begin on July 3rd, but is set to finish five weeks later, with head coach Warren Gatland already voicing his concerns over the short turnaround between the eight fixtures. As well as that, the tour’s first game is set to be only a week after the English Premiership final, leaving players little time to prepare together.
Some have suggested that like the Guinness PRO14, the Premiership may bring their final forward by a week to allow Gatland have an entire squad.
As well as their fixtures in South Africa it is thought that the Lions are keen on having a game a week before their first official fixture, more than likely against a Barbarians side, which would be a hugely entertaining match-up.
First up for the Lions when they head to South Africa is a clash with Super Rugby side the Stormers in Cape Town on July 3rd, before a match against a South African invitational side on the 7th in Port Elizabeth.
On the 10th they head to Durban to take on fellow Super Rugby franchise the Sharks, before another short turnaround to take on South Africa A on the 14th Nelspruit.
They take on their final Super Rugby opponents in the form of the Bulls on the 17th in Pretoria, before beginning their three match series against the Boks.
The first of those games will be held in Johannesburg on the 24th, with the second a week later in Cape Town and the final game will be on August 7th back in Johannesburg. The first and third game will be played at high altitude which will add to the difficulty of the task.
Speaking on the announcement, Gatland, who is taking charge of his third Lions tour following a series win in Australia in 2013 and a draw in New Zealand four years later is relishing the challenge despite his concerns over a lack of preparation time.
“I am absolutely thrilled with how this schedule looks. Touring South Africa is always a huge challenge, not only from a rugby perspective, but also in terms of the venues and the conditions facing the players. We are very comfortable that three of the games, two of which are Test matches, will be played at altitude. Our schedule falls in a way to allow us to start at sea level before building up and acclimatising to the unique environment that playing at altitude presents. Ensuring the team are absolutely primed for the Test matches is a critical element of any Lions tour, and I am confident the quality of opposition we will face in the opening weeks will get us ready to take on the Springboks. The Bulls, Sharks and Stormers are all tough sides and present different challenges, which is exactly what we want,â€? he said.
The Lions will need to be at full strength if they are to record a series win in South Africa, with the Boks being crowned World Cup champions last month and looking like they are only going to get better.
It is set to be another incredible tour and hopefully the short turnaround between the end of the season and between games doesn’t have too much of an effect on the outcome of the series.
Check Out the Schedule Below:
July 3: Stormers (Cape Town)
July 7: South Africa ‘Invitational’ (Port Elizabeth)
July 10: Sharks (Durban)
July 14: South Africa A (Nelspruit)
July 17: Bulls (Pretoria)
July 24: South Africa (Johannesburg)
July 31: South Africa (Cape Town)
August 7: South Africa (Johannesburg)
