Eight players ruled out of Lions match this evening after squad member tests Covid-positive

Tour captain Conor Murray is among eight players ruled out of the match

Tour captain Conor Murray is among eight players ruled out of the match. INPHO/Dan Sheridan

The British & Irish Lions have made several changes to their matchday squad for Wednesday night’s tour match against the Cell C Sharks but the game will go ahead.

The decision to play on followed an announcement earlier in the day that a member of the tourists’ management had tested positive for Covid-19 and a number of players were self-isolating as a consequence. An unnamed player has since also tested positive.

The Lions said eight players and four staff members had been deemed close contacts of the confirmed cases and had all been placed into isolation at the team hotel in the Sandton suburb of Johannesburg.

Kick-off at Emirates Airlines Stadium, formerly Ellis Park, was pushed back to 7pm Irish time, and head coach Warren Gatland revealed eight changes to his matchday 23, four from the starting line-up and four from the replacements with the Lions fielding an unusual bench combination of seven forwards and only one back.

Full-back Liam Williams, wing Anthony Watson, fly-half Dan Biggar, and scrum-half Gareth Davies were pulled from the starting XV while Tadhg Beirne, the only forward to marked absent, tour captain Conor Murray, Stuart Hogg, and outside-back replacement Chris Harris were also withdrawn.

Owen Farrell and Ali Price come in as the half-back pairing, while Finn Russell is the only back among the replacements. Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit are also drafted into the starting team.

Covid is threatening to seriously undermine this tour with the Lions deprived of a game this Saturday due to confirmed cases in their opponents’ camp, the Bulls, and the Springboks’ Test against Georgia this Friday cancelled.

Lions CEO Ben Calveley addressed the issues in a pre-game interview on Sky Sports on Wednesday evening and confirmed that a player had also tested positive for Covid in addition to the member of team management.

Calveley said: “We had one positive Covid case in the camp this morning. That person had four close contacts so two of them were players, two of them were management. We immediately isolated everybody in the tour party. We then lateral flow and PCR tested everybody and those results came back negative apart from one single team positive.

“Just out of an abundance of caution, we’ve isolated that individual and all of his close contacts. We then consulted with the Medical Advisory Group that contains all of the relevant medical experts and then their advice is that the fixture can proceed so we are going ahead with the match tonight.”

Calveley was asked if all the Lions touring party had been double-vaccinated and the chief executive admitted some members had received only one jab to date but added the MAG opinion was that it was safe to proceed with the game and the tour.

“We certainly think it is. That Medical Advisory Group contains independent virologists and infectious disease experts on that group and their recommendation is that the match can proceed. So we see it as a positive that we are showing that we can overcome all the challenges that face us and we are determined to make sure we can put a tour on for the players, the fans, and for all of our friends here in South Africa.

“We are in a secure, tightly controlled bubble environment but what’s absolutely the case and we have seen it in sport around the world is that no bubble is entirely impenetrable. That’s why we set up our Medical Advisory Group so we can take advice from the experts whether it is okay to proceed with matches like this. We are really pleased that they have said this is okay to proceed.” 

Calveley also said the Lions were working with the host union to find opponents to replace the Bulls this weekend before the tour moves onto Cape Town on Sunday.

“We just very calmly work through the challenges as they present themselves, we take things one step at a time. The focus was to get this fixture on, which we did.

“We then turn our attention to the weekend, and we know the Bulls can’t put a side out, so we are working with the South African Rugby Union to find alternative opponents for Saturday, or if we can’t rearrange that for later in the tour. The approach is to stay calm, focussed and take things one step at a time.” 

With the first Test against the world champions South Africa scheduled for Cape Town in 17 days, Calveley added: “The Test series is paramount. We’re here in South Africa and our intention is to get the games over the line in South Africa. We play the match tonight, go on and deal with Saturday, then move to Cape Town on Sunday, and at the moment there is no intention to deviate from that agreed schedule."

LIONS: Josh Adams (Wales), Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales), Elliot Daly (England), Bundee Aki (Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland); Owen Farrell (England), Ali Price (Scotland); Mako Vunipola (England), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Zander Fagerson (Scotland); Iain Henderson – Captain (Ireland), Adam Beard (Wales); Josh Navidi (Wales), Tom Curry (England), Sam Simmonds (England).

Replacements:

 Ken Owens (Wales), Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Maro Itoje (England), Jack Conan (Ireland), Hamish Watson (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Taulupe Faletau (Wales).

CELL C SHARKS: M Libbok; W Kok, J Ward, M Louw, T Abrahams; C Bosch, J Hendrikse; K Mona, F Mbatha, K Mchunu; R van Heerden, H Andrews; J Venter, T Bholi, P Buthelezi - captain.

Replacements: K van Vuuren, N Mchunu, W Herbst, JJ van der Mescht, R Hugo, D Richardson, G Williams, A Volmink