South Africa's final warm-up game before the Lions series begins has been cancelled.

The world champions were due to play their second Test against Georgia on Friday, just their second match since the World Cup final in Yokohama in October 2019, but outbreaks of Covid-19 in both camps have made it impossible.

On Tuesday, South Africa reported 12 new cases in their camp on top of the one from Monday and three last week. Georgia have four positive tests in their camp. The Springboks camp remains in isolation as a result of the outbreak and training is on hold.

As a result the Lions series Medical Advisory Group, which is made up of the CEOs of SA Rugby and the Lions, the chief medical officers of both organisations, two virologists and an infectious disease specialist, decided to cancel the match.

The Lions, who play the Sharks in Johannesburg tonight, have also been affected by the spiralling case numbers in the Gauteng region, with their game against the Blue Bulls on Saturday called off.

They face South Africa 'A' in a week and, if that game can go ahead they will likely take on a strong side.

However, the Springboks' travel plans are now being reviewed with the whole tour scheduled to move to Cape Town next week.

“In the context of the loss of life and economic damage that COVID and this third wave are wreaking, the cancellation of a rugby match is pretty trivial,” Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, asid.

“But it is still a major disappointment for the many stakeholders who have invested so much time, energy and resources into making these matches happen.

“I especially feel for the fans and players, and for our visitors from Georgia who travelled here at relatively short notice to take on the series, which has now been cut short. We’ve not been able to interact with them because of the bio-secure environments, but I’d like to thank them publicly for their support.

“We continue to plan for the Springboks’ re-emergence from isolation and the completion of the Test series but in the short-term we wish a speedy recovery for those who have been infected.”