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Lions players receive first vaccination shot ahead of South African tour
By PA
All members of the British and Irish Lions squad have received their first coronavirus vaccinations ahead of the summer tour to South Africa, the players visiting a site in London on Wednesday to be given the Pfizer jab with only Scotland fly-half Finn Russell missing as he is based at Racing 92 in Paris and has already been vaccinated.
The Government approved the move to protect Warren Gatland’s squad ahead of their visit to South Africa, a red list destination that is seeing a growing number of coronavirus cases. In the wider population, only people aged 30 or over are currently eligible for a jab.
The Lions hope all 37 players will get their second vaccinations by the end of their pre-tour training camp in Jersey, which begins on June 14 and leads into the warm-up game against Japan at Murrayfield on June 26.
Gatland and his management team are already advanced in their vaccination programme. It is still not known whether the Lions will be required to quarantine for eleven nights in a government-approved hotel when they return from South Africa on August 9.
Discussions over receiving dispensation on the basis they will be operating in a bubble environment are ongoing.
Having announced the squad on May 6, the Lions players assembled in London for an administration day ahead of their tour which is set to be played behind closed doors in South Africa - although a capacity of 16,500 has been set for their pre-tour match in Edinburgh.
Earlier this week, Japan announced their 36-man squad to face the Lions, coach Jamie Joseph including a raft of 2019 World Cup heroes in a travelling party that was trimmed down from an initial 52-man training squad. They face the Sunwolves in a warm-up game in Shizuoka on June 12 and will take on Ireland in Dublin the week after playing the Lions.
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Latest Comments
Well said except Argentina is most certainly not an “emerging nation” as far as rugby is concerned. If you’re making global-social-political claim, then I’m out of my depth entirely.
Argentina by multiple leagues of magnitude played better than Ireland today. Striking away a try in the 2nd minute did not necessarily lead to Arg demise, but as we all know, rugby is such an emotional game that then to be down 12-0 over nothing is gut-wrenching, especially as it was effectively a 19 point swing. Argentina’s fight back throughout the rest of the match was laudable.
A howl of great sadness for a beautiful sport that has criminal administrators, feckless refs, foppish TMOs, idiotic tv pundits, et al. attempting to collectively suicide the whole thing. No fault of the players or coaches necessarily. We have a situation where punitive cards that detract away from the essence and loftiness of the game itself are celebrated to a degree that is pathologically purblind. Rugby has created for itself a fetish for punishment rather than simply allowing the game to be played. Shameful.
Go to commentsAbsolutely right, can’t expect nearly an all kiwi officiating team to know the rules properly 😉
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