The two sides lined up against each other on Wednesday night in a one-sided affair that saw Warren Gatland’s touring side run out 54-7 winners in Ellis Park.

SA Rugby and the Lions have agreed to replace the Vodacom Bulls with the Cell C Sharks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (kick-off 18h00 SAT, 17h00 BST), after the former was ruled out because of COVID-19 infections.

The Lions beat the Cell C Sharks 54-7 at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Wednesday in the second match of the Castle Lager Lions Series. The tourists had opened their account at the same venue with a 56-14 victory over the Sigma Lions on Saturday.

“The choice of the Cell C Sharks was dictated by the fact that they have been in a bubble, have returned negative tests throughout and were prepared to take on the fixture,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby.

“No other team in the country could meet those conditions right now – without going into a five-day lockdown. It is not an ideal situation, but COVID-19 has made sure that we do not live in an ideal world.”

The change has meant that the Cell C Sharks’ match against the Sigma Lions in the Carling Currie Cup on Saturday has been cancelled with a decision on the points allocation to be confirmed.

“We’re very grateful to the Sharks for agreeing to play us again this Saturday at Loftus Versfeld,” said Lions managing director Ben Calveley.

“We have further COVID-19 testing scheduled for today and tomorrow. The results of those tests will determine whether we will be able fulfil this fixture, but, as it stands, we are optimistic.

“We remain committed to the Tour in South Africa and determined to rise to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The possibility of the second game against the Sharks going ahead is subject to PCR test results from the squads.

The Lions, who put eight tries past the Sharks in their recent game, will undergo testing today and tomorrow but expect to be able to play at the weekend.

The story of the Lions’ tour to South Africa has been big wins and positive cases so far, with the South African national team having to cancel their second test against Georgia because of cases in both camps.

Their first match ended in a convincing 40-9 win after the Springboks snuck into the lead at the end of a tight first half.

South Africa is currently scheduled to field an ‘A’ side against the Lions on Wednesday, July 14th.

It remains to be seen how strong a team the South Africans will be able to field in that fixture.

The Lions will look to another fixture against the Sharks this weekend and are expected to play against the ‘A’ side, as mentioned above, and the DHL Stormers before playing the first test against the Springboks.

With cases in multiple camps and the test only two weeks away, the thought of a three-game test series between the two sides that would be unaffected by COVID-19 gets less convincing by the day.

To see the Lions’ fixture list for the tour, click here.

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Their match against Georgia on Friday is still scheduled to go ahead despite yesterday’s setback.

The Springboks have reported that fly-half Herschel Jantjies, one of the three who tested positive yesterday, has “subsequently been cleared and can return to training.”

South Africa is currently suffering from a third wave of COVID-19, led by the Delta variant and the country has entered Level 4 restrictions for 14 days in an attempt to combat it.

To contain the massive surge in infections, South Africa will be moving to Alert Level 4 for a period of 14 days. Additional restrictions will be in place from tomorrow, 28th June 2021.#StaySafe #CoronaVirusSA #Ramaphosa #Level4 #14Days pic.twitter.com/2XPY21cBgq

— Presidency | South Africa (@PresidencyZA) June 27, 2021

Under the Level 4 lockdown, all gatherings indoors and outdoors are prohibited and a curfew from 9 pm to 4 am has been put in place.

The lockdown will be in place until July 11 in the country.

However, the South African government announced this morning that all professional sports will go ahead but attendance for the Lions tests looks unlikely.

In a statement by SA Rugby, the quick return to training after the positive tests yesterday is down to “the strict precautionary measures taken by the team and the effective isolation protocols since the squad assembled.”

The Boks will announce their team to play Georgia on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the British and Irish Lions have landed in Johannesburg, South Africa ahead of the tour after all players called up were finally together following the end of domestic seasons across Europe.

The side beat Japan 28-10 at Murrayfield on Saturday in the first of their warm-up tests.

The province of Gauteng has been the region in South Africa hit hardest by the latest surge in cases.

Gauteng encompasses Johannesburg and Pretoria, meaning that the Lions flew into the epicentre of the outbreak.

Warren Gatland’s side will play five of their eight games on the tour in the region, including this Saturday’s fixture with South African club and soon-to-be United Rugby Championship members The Lions.

The three-match series between the reigning world champions and the British and Irish Lions starts on July 24.

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The Tottenham vs. Fulham bout which was scheduled to take place this evening has been called off due to COVID-19 fears. The decision was made by the Premier League after a significant rise in cases within the Fulham camp.

Manchester City vs. Everton was also postponed during the week after an outbreak of cases in the City squad.

The Premier League today announced that fixtures would resume despite the increase in cases, a statement which they reaffirmed following the cancellation of this evening’s match.

“With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the Premier League continues to have full confidence in its COVID-19 protocols and being able to continue to play our fixtures as scheduled.”, the Premier League stated.

The date for the rescheduled bout is yet to be confirmed.

Spurs’ fixture with Fulham, due to be played at 18:00 GMT this evening, has been postponed following a Premier League Board meeting

Full statement: https://t.co/KInrnKDl2D#TOTFUL pic.twitter.com/SjQUpOvVLv

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 30, 2020

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Everton’s match against Manchester City which was scheduled for tonight has been called off due to positive Covid-19 cases in the City squad. The Premier League decided to cancel the fixture after medical advice following the surge in cases.

Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus tested positive on Christmas day – along with two others –  and it now appears that more cases have infiltrated the City camp. There are now a large number of cases within the squad. The players infected with the virus remain unnamed for the time being – bar Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus.

City are scheduled to face Chelsea at the weekend. The city players returned to training on Wednesday following a short period of isolation.

The Manchester City vs. Everton match has been rescheduled to take place at the end of the season.

NEWS | This evening’s game at Everton has been postponed.

#ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re https://t.co/ZLnMhyIloa

— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 28, 2020

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Crowds will return to English sports next week after months of spectator-less matches, the UK government announced today. The allowance of spectators at football matches will come in accordance with the end of national lockdown.

There are of course rules regarding attendees, however. There will be an attendance caps in accordance with areas of different risk. Enforcement of social distancing will also apply. The maximum amount of spectators allowed in outdoor events will be capped at 4,000 in Tier 1 areas or at 50% depending at the capacity of the stadium. 2,000 spectators will be allowed into stadiums within Tier 2 areas. There will be a total of 1,000 attendees allowed into indoor events in Tier 1 and 2 areas. Crowds are to be completed banned in Tier 3 areas.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the aforementioned tier system today. The areas within each tier are yet to be decided. The respective tiers will be announced later this week, likely on Thursday.

The news of returning spectators comes after increased frustration from sports clubs. Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy expressed his concern over the absence of fans just before the announcement from the UK prime minister. “Our estimate for the current financial year of the potential loss of revenue, should the stadium remain closed to fans, is in excess of £150m. Clearly this would be an irrecoverable loss of income.”, Levy asserted.

This comes after Tottenham reported a loss of £63.9 million for the year ended June 30th.

There have been concerns from some members of the public regarding the safety of these new rules, particularly coming up to the Christmas period. Others have welcomed the return of spectators with severally clubs struggling financially throughout the last few months, especially “smaller” clubs.

The UK government have also announced the return of grassroots sports, having been suspended since November 5th.

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The FAI have confirmed that Matt Doherty and James McClean have tested positive for Covid-19. This comes just one day after they started against Wales. “The rest and the staff and squad tested negative ahead of the flight back to Dublin this morning”, the FAI announced earlier today.

The exclusion of Doherty and McClean only adds to the growing list of Ireland absentees. There’s now an unprecedented number of players unavailable for Wednesday’s fixture and relegation decider against Bulgaria.

Jeff Hendrick and Jayson Molumby are suspended for the match as a result of their bookings on Tuesday. Alan Browne and Callum Robinson previously tested positive for Covid-19, meaning they’ll miss out. Injuries have also ruled a handful of players out including; Enda Stevens, Aaron Connolly, Séamus Coleman, John Egan, Adam Idah and Harry Arter. James McCarthy also withdrew from the squad due to personal issues.

Stephen Kenny will now have to work with an even more depleted squad as he looks to gather his first win as Ireland boss.

Ireland squad against Bulgaria:

Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph (West Ham United), Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth)

Defenders: Kevin Long (Burnley), Shane Duffy (Celtic, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Dara O’Shea (West Bromwich Albion), Cyrus Christie (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Fulham), Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United), Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers), Ryan Manning (Swansea City).

Midfielders: Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Robbie Brady (Burnley), Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers), Jason Knight (Derby County), Josh Cullen (Anderlecht), Aaron McEneff (Shamrock Rovers), Jack Taylor (Peterborough United).

Attackers: Graham Burke (Shamrock Rovers, on loan from Preston North End), James Collins (Luton Town), Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth), Callum O’Dowda (Bristol City), Daryl Horgan (Wycombe Wanderers), Sean Maguire (Preston North End), Troy Parrott (Millwall, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur).

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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Egyptian football association. He must now undergo mandatory quarantine, despite not displaying any symptoms.

Salah will undergo additional testing to further assess his condition. If tests reveal a negative result, he will not have to quarantine in the UK and will be available for selection against Leicester. He will, however, miss Egypt’s upcoming games against Togo in AFCON qualifying.

The forward was filmed enjoying himself at his brother’s wedding prior to the positive test.

Salah’s test comes as one of the many positive tests during international break amongst different squads.

Additional Covid-19 outbreaks

The FAI confirmed today that Alan Browne has tested positive. This comes after the midfielder played a full 90 minutes against England yesterday – where he had the virus according to reports. There has been no confirmation of additional positive tests between the two camps since the match, though. Alan Browne is Ireland’s second Covid-19 related absence after Callum Robinson also tested positive earlier in the week.

The Football Association of Ireland can confirm Ireland midfielder Alan Browne has tested positive for COVID-19

There are no close contacts of the player and the rest of the staff & squad tested negative ahead of Sunday’s UEFA Nations League against Wales in Cardiff#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/Llpde9apHo

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) NOVEMBER 13, 2020

There has also been virus outbreaks within the Denmark and Brazil camps. Denmark missed no less than 20 of their players in a friendly against Sweden – who were also missing players due to the virus – on Wednesday. Gabriel Menino of Brazil also tested positive having trained with the Brazilian squad. Several Premier League players trained with Menino including Roberto Firmino, Alisson Becker and Alex Telles.

Norway and Israel cancelled their friendly on Tuesday, also. Israel striker Munas Dabbur contracted the virus leading to the cancellation.

This is not the first time there has been an excess of cases among players during international breaks, either. During last month’s international break there was also a series of positive test results. Shamrock Rovers midfielder Jack Byrne tested positive for the virus while on Ireland duty. The Italy u21s also had an outbreak in their camp, leading them to play a weakened side against the Ireland u21s.

Another week of football is to be played with further cases likely. It’s clear that changes must be made regarding the safety of international football during these times.

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The game in Mayo was between Balla and Louisburgh. It was suspended after there was a confirmed Covid 19 case in Louisburgh and both clubs agreed to cancel the game. Balla released a statement, “Louisburgh contacted Balla on Friday evening 17th re concerns locally including a doctor advice to not play the fixture v Balla”. Louisburgh suggested that the game be played behind closed doors, but RTE state that Balla “were unwilling to travel on the basis of concerns raised by Louisburgh”.

Meanwhile, Donegal club, Naomh Colmcille have also suspended activities. This comes on the back of playing a challenge game against Derry club side Glack. Incidentally, the Oak Leaf based side were one of 10 teams in the county to suspend activity. In a statement they said, “The club has carried out a risk assessment and following guidance from the County board and HSE we took the difficult decision to suspend club activities over the weekend in the interest of everyone’s safety and notified the CCC accordingly.”

Donegal GAA issued a statement also, they said,” The Donegal County Board later offered an alternative view as they tweeted: “Donegal GAA didn’t give @Naomh_Colmcille guidance to suspend club activities contrary to their recent tweet.” Rather, the club was directed to @officialgaa GAA protocols agreed with the HSE @Naomh_Colmcille have not advised the County Board that they have actual or suspected cases.”

Clubs in Laois have also paused all activity as they await Covid 19 testing. Arles Kilcruise and the Killeshin clubs played Old Leighlin of Carlow in challenge games. Old Leighlin had a positive case in their club of Covid 19 but have since tested all players and members and they hope to resume activity soon. They said in a tweet:

Club statement. pic.twitter.com/5gy11c4ayq

— Old Leighlin GFC (@OldLeighlinGFC) July 20, 2020

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