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'How come the Lions' bubble is working?': Boks' bubble under scrutiny
By Sam Smith
The news that 10 members of the Springboks camp have tested positive for Covid-19 has sent shockwaves through the rugby world, with doubt creeping over the remaining viability of the British & Irish Lions tour.
Four players, Marvin Orie, Frans Steyn, Handre Pollard and Frans Malherbe, plus six among management, including head coach Jacques Nienaber were among those who are now battling the virus.
The outbreak comes after lock Lood de Jager had already tested positive and begun isolating.
With the wider outbreak amongst the Springbok team, the certainty over whether the British & Irish Lions tour will be completed is up in the air. The Lions are due to play the Sharks on Thursday but Saturday's fixture against the Bulls has been postponed.
Rugby media all over the world reacted to the news with a mix of shock, anger and disbelief. UK scribe Sam Peters wrote 'this tour should never have happened' and highlighted it as 'another example of pro rugby putting profit over people'.
Controversial pundit Stephen Jones said the tour 'seems ill-fated', while Irish writer Ruaidhri O'Connor said he felt sorry for the players stuck in this situation for what should have been a career highlight.
With the outbreak among the Springboks comes scrutiny as to how this actually happened, with many questioning what exactly are the protocols around the Springboks bubble given they are at home.
With the Lions camp free of any cases, fans begun asking why the Lions' bubble is working but the Springboks isn't. Some fans online wanted an explanation into how the Springboks bubble works, and whether the players are vaccinated.
Unacceptable.
No matter how it happened. How come the Lions' bubble is working?
— Kristine Janse Van (@JanseKristine) July 6, 2021
Please can you explain how the bubble actually works. Why was it not secure enough?— Finniegan (@Finnie9) July 6, 2021
Who broke the bubble?— Daniel Steyn (@DSSteyn) July 6, 2021
Good luck!
It’s as if they don’t want to play the Series the way Springboks are so careless about BIO BUBBLE!
Mxim— RHABULA ?? (@SportsInterval) July 6, 2021
Lions bubble seems strangely more secured... what are the boys doing ? Come on now— Brice Oka (@briceoka) July 5, 2021
While the Springboks bubble has burst, the Blue Bulls franchise also has come apart with four cases of their own. Georgia, who played the Springboks on the weekend, also have cases within their squad.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux warned of the worsening situation in a statement and said everyone is awaiting more data. He said the integrity of the test series must be maintained as the priority.
“These positive results are a setback and have underlined the danger of transmissibility of the delta variant,” Roux said.
“The Springboks’ second test against Georgia is now in serious doubt, but we will wait for the MAG to consider the data and we will make the final decision tomorrow [Wednesday].
"The priority is to maintain the integrity of the test series and we will continue to focus on that.”
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Latest Comments
It is if he thinks he’s got hold of the ball and there is at least one other player between him and the ball carrier, which is why he has to reach around and over their heads. Not a deliberate action for me.
Go to commentsI understand, but England 30 years ago were a set piece focused kick heavy team not big on using backs.
Same as now.
South African sides from any period will have a big bunch of forwards smashing it up and a first five booting everything in their own half.
NZ until recently rarely if ever scrummed for penalties; the scrum is to attack from, broken play, not structured is what we’re after.
Same as now.
These are ways of playing very ingrained into the culture.
If you were in an English club team and were off to Fiji for a game against a club team you’d never heard of and had no footage of, how would you prepare?
For a forward dominated grind or would you assume they will throw the ball about because they are Fijian?
A Fiji way. An English way.
An Australian way depends on who you’ve scraped together that hasn’t been picked off by AFL or NRL, and that changes from generation to generation a lot of the time.
Actually, maybe that is their style. In fact, yes they have a style.
Nevermind. Fuggit I’ve typed it all out now.
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