Is the 2021 Lions Tour Doomed?

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Six more positive players named:

British and Irish Lions: South Africa captain Siya Kolisi tests positive for Covid-19

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi tests positive for coronavirus as his side build up to the series against the British and Irish Lions.

www.bbc.co.uk

Looks like their bubble is protecting the public from the Boks rather than the other way round

Two things bother me one a fact and the other a mere rumour that is yet to be confirmed to me.

The fact is that Players were allowed to invite their partners, wives and children into the hotel, and thereby possibly exposing the whole squad to the outside.

A rumour that got floated was that the Boks don't enter a hard bubble until 11 July. Until then they are allowed to break the bubble on weekends to visit home. However, I cant see this to be true. it seems an oddly specific one, but ultimately one that would be too unrealistic to comprehend.
SARU has mentioned on multiple times that if this tour does not go ahead they will shut up shop, as their financial wellbeing will collapse. If this tour is indeed so valuable to the organisation they will not gamble their future existence by allowing a Rassie and co tradition of inviting players wives and girlfriends of the players to join the camp and risking it by carelessly allowing players to test the trust placed in them by SARU by letting them leave the bubble on weekends.

In Covid times the suits will realize that past tradition has no meaning if the organization might fold due to actions that may cause a cancellation of the tour. For that reason, I think that there are malicious forces at play to discredit the efforts of the tour organizers.

 

[mdaclarke]

Two things bother me one a fact and the other a mere rumour that is yet to be confirmed to me.

The fact is that Players were allowed to invite their partners, wives and children into the hotel, and thereby possibly exposing the whole squad to the outside.

A rumour that got floated was that the Boks don't enter a hard bubble until 11 July. Until then they are allowed to break the bubble on weekends to visit home. However, I cant see this to be true. it seems an oddly specific one, but ultimately one that would be too unrealistic to comprehend.
SARU has mentioned on multiple times that if this tour does not go ahead they will shut up shop, as their financial wellbeing will collapse. If this tour is indeed so valuable to the organisation they will not gamble their future existence by allowing a Rassie and co tradition of inviting players wives and girlfriends of the players to join the camp and risking it by carelessly allowing players to test the trust placed in them by SARU by letting them leave the bubble on weekends.

In Covid times the suits will realize that past tradition has no meaning if the organization might fold due to actions that may cause a cancellation of the tour. For that reason, I think that there are malicious forces at play to discredit the efforts of the tour organizers.

Its a bit of a mess but if I am trying to be positive best for this to happen now than in 2 weeks time.

It is my understanding that there are now only 6 positive players, not sure if that is correct?

 

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Its a bit of a mess but if I am trying to be positive best for this to happen now than in 2 weeks time.

It is my understanding that there are now only 6 positive players, not sure if that is correct?

According to Rapport it's 14. Only three players were not in quarantine. But a group has started training again today apparently.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hopefully going into a strict bubble yesterday means this will be the end of it - though I'm not sure it will (as it showed with the Lions bubble having a breach)

 

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Meanwhile South Africa is burning. Military deployed, police is overrun have no control anymore. KZN worst affected. Gauteng also a problem.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yeh was seeing clips of that.
Looking closer to a warzone now

 

[Kiwiwomble]

haven't seen @TRF_heineken around for a while, not much since their post about having COVID, All ok @TRF_heineken ?

 

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haven't seen @TRF_heineken around for a while, not much since their post about having COVID, All ok @TRF_heineken ?

I concur, he would be around especially for an International game not to mention a once in a 12 year Lions tour so hope it's not covid related..

 

[Ospervat]

With all the nonsense going on in SA on top of Covid issues - I say bring the boys home. They don't need to prove anything in SA and they certainly don't need to be put in harms way by virtue of the uncontrollable civil violence. Sadly it's time for the rest of the world to move on now. South Africa will do as it pleases and their plans do not require or include anything we have to offer.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

haven't seen @TRF_heineken around for a while, not much since their post about having COVID, All ok @TRF_heineken ?

I think he's also got 2 sets of twins from his posts, so will have his hands full.

 

[mdaclarke]

AWJ wouldn't be flying out if there was any chance the tour could be canned. The violence is linked to Zuma and not covid. Also it appears to concentrated in the Natal and Gauteng areas. I think it is likely that the tests could all be in Cape Town though

 

[unrated]

AWJ wouldn't be flying out if there was any chance the tour could be canned. The violence is linked to Zuma and not covid. Also it appears to concentrated in the Natal and Gauteng areas. I think it is likely that the tests could all be in Cape Town though

TLDR: The Lions player safety is guaranteed. The Tour can go ahead secluded from covid, secured from the impending civil war.

Tonight's rugby game will be a nice break from reality. They must keep the tour going. The Lions will be well protected and out of harms way, its likely that it will stay in Cape Town from now on.

A Backstory:
It's mainly in KZN and Gauteng but the government has lost control here, communities are now defending themselves. it's crazy, all men with guns and even those without are busy defending key infrastructure such as supermarkets, estates for the elderly, hospitals etc. Its mainly the Zulus rampaging through everything as They feel their Zulu Leader Jacob Zuma needs to be released from Prison. Then the Mob mentality kicked in when the looting started and everyone just went crazy, looting and burning down buildings, it was a domino effect with non-participants feeling they were missing out on free flat-screen TVs and other items up for grabs. Gauteng is the second most affected province because they have the second-highest concentration of Zulus after Kwazulu-Natal.

Literally last week, my family and friends were all living normal lives, going to work, travelling, braaing on the weekends and now its a warzone. We are taking shifts manning road blockades to ensure the looters and Mobsters wont reach residential areas with our women and children. It's slowly becoming a race war in KZN, with the Indians and whites teaming up and arming with live ammunition. Our section has spikes in the roads with haybales covering them, along with lights and zigzag obstacles to slow down approaching vehicles. The Army sent a total of 10 people to our area, we cant count on then it's up to the residents to defend themselves, for now, we are succeeding in defending what we need to defend while working on food security for the community after the warehouses and logistics trucks were burned down. Fuel has now been depleted in KZN and no trucks can bring in new supplies.

With that said, Its mainly KZN and the other provinces such as where the Lions are now in the Western Cape are untouched. Never thought it would become like this in what I considered a developed African economy. Our N3 corridor for exports and trucking logistics is completely closed. Looking forward to the SA A game vs the Lions tonight I scheduled my shift after the game. No one can go to work all shops and businesses have been closed, we are taking turns with coffee shop owners, Farmers and all kinds of community members in a surreal environment.


If anyone wants to see videos of these things just check out the R/South Africa subbreddit. I know we aren't supposed to link to other websites, but it's the only way I can think of to publicly share the hundreds of videos around at the moment to foreign interested parties.

Sorry that I bring negativity on a rugby forum. The situation in South Africa is in such a state that rugby is of no importance.

Some videos,







click here for Aerial shots mayhem

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Holy ****!

Stay safe, man - that's insane

 

[Ferrari333SP]

Thanks for posting man, I'm glad you're sharing that info with us, to give the wider world a more developed context of the country the Lions are playing in. Hopefully in the next few weeks the government there can somehow bring a greater level of calm to those parts mentioned

 

[Umaga's Witness]

And just hearing the georgian coach is on a ventilator in hospital with covid as some of their squad were infected following the springbok game.

 

[Which Tyler]

And just hearing the georgian coach is on a ventilator in hospital with covid as some of their squad were infected following the springbok game.

Georgia coach on ventilator with Covid-19 in South Africa

South Africa’s second Test match against Georgia in Johannesburg on Friday was cancelled because of Covid-19 infections in both camps.

www.skysports.com

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Jeeze, that's horrible news

Hope he pulls through, though the stats for patients who need a ventilator aren't the best, unfortunately

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I see a poster in the back of that video - "three simple steps for prevention". Maybe add a clarification that tackling, rucking, scrummaging, and mauling dont constitute 2m distance.

 

[Bada-Bing!]