The British & Irish Lions have reportedly made an official request to the UK government to help host a home ‘tour’ against the Springboks.
According to the Daily Mail, the Lions board met last Thursday to further discuss contingencies for their tour of South Africa, scheduled to take place in July and August.
Following the meeting, the Lions approached the government for financial guarantees which, if obtained, would pave the way for the tour to be hosted in the UK and Ireland.
The Mail reported that it is unlikely that the tour will go ahead as planned in South Africa, as the country has only just started a vaccination programme, although there is still the possibility it could be played behind closed doors.
There is also the potential that crowd limits in the UK would be lifted from 21 June, which would be in time for the Lions’ warm-up match against Japan at Murrayfield.
Australia has also offered to host the tour, with the claim that, with state backing, they could guarantee a £10-million profit.
However, the home nations are still in favour of holding the matches in the UK.
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