Lions legend: Bok series in SA, even without fans, is the right call

Legendary former British & Irish Lions player and coach Ian McGeechan says the decision to stage the 2021 series against the Springboks in South Africa was the right call.

This follows Tuesday's join announcement by the Lions Board and SA Rugby that the tour would go ahead in South Africa as planned.

There had been suggestions that the tour could be moved to the UK because of the Covid-19 situation in South Africa.

In a column for The Telegraph, McGeechan wrote that it was important for the tour to go ahead in 2021 and staged in South Africa.

"The confirmation that the Lions intend to tour South Africa this summer fulfils my one wish - that it goes ahead this year," he wrote. "The Lions are a touring entity, so actually playing games around South Africa maintains that sporting integrity, while going this year ensures that the institution will not jeopardise its long-term future by interfering with the build-up to the next Rugby World Cup.

"It goes without saying that if they have to play in stadiums without fans, that will be far from ideal, but for anyone with any deep knowledge of the Lions, the modern tour featuring the so-called Red Wall of travelling fans is a relatively new phenomenon.

"Clearly, we could have ensured that there were fans present had the games been played in either Australia or, perhaps, even the UK, but anyone who suggests that the television companies who lobbied for the tour to be in South Africa are the tail wagging the dog fundamentally misunderstand the beast that is the Lions. And in many ways, South Africa in 1997 was the birthplace of today's Lions."

McGeechan was the Lions coach when they toured South Africa for a 2-1 series win in 1997, the first Lions tour of the professional era.

The Scot also toured South Africa as a player in 1974 when a powerful Lions side won the series 3-0.

McGeechan, 74, noted that it was only during the 1997 tour that fans had fans started coming over from the UK in their droves.

"Having been on Lions tours since 1974, I was struck by the massive difference between that tour (1997) to South Africa and all those I had experienced previously.

"That was the beginning of the Red Wall. In all, between 20 000 and 25 000 Lions fans came down to South Africa that summer. Back home, everybody watched it on the television and wanted to be there, and when the travelling fans returned, their stories put a Lions trip on the bucket list of every rugby fan in these islands."

SA Rugby and its president Mark Alexander are working closely with government and making every effort to secure live attendance for the matches, but it looks a long shot given how slowly the country is moving with its vaccination rollouts and considering that a third wave of the pandemic is expected over the winter.

It was reported over the weekend that Alexander would be satisfied with securing a 50% attendance at the venues, but he was clear in his stance on Tuesday that spectators at stadiums was imperative for the Lions tour to be a success.

"There are serious financial implications for SA Rugby, should the event take place without any supporters in attendance, and we cannot ignore that in our considerations. But we are determined that the eventual outcome will deliver the best occasion and experience for players, supporters and our commercial partners," the SA Rugby boss said.

But even without fans, McGeechan said the right call was made.

"We should not begrudge the broadcasters wanting the tour to go ahead in South Africa, where they will inevitably get better viewing figures than for Australia or New Zealand. Without television, we would not have the Lions as we know them, and we may not have them at all.

"While matches at empty stadiums in South Africa is no one's idea of an ideal Lions tour, at least we get that sense of a proper tour as the Test side gradually emerge, while the whole country gets to see the spectacle in prime time."