Lions tour dates yet to be confirmed
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:47
According to the South African Rugby Union (SARU), the details of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa have yet to be confirmed. SA Rugby on Tuesday firmly denied that the Lions' fixtures for the tour, which had allegedly been leaked to the media at the weekend, were anything more than speculation, saying that the majority of the arrangements for the tour had yet to be made. "It's all speculation at this point," André Homan, SA Rugby's Project Manager for the 2009 Lions tour, told rugby365.com. "There are a lot of role-players that still need to be consulted and we should only be in a position in early 2008 to confirm anything. "At the moment we are still in discussions with all the Unions. "At this point in time we are not in a position to confirm a match schedule." Stephen Roos, SA Rugby's Manager of Tournaments, Tours and Competitions, was also quick to dismiss the schedule as "speculation", adding that there were a number of arrangements that had to be made before they could begin to work on it. "Louise Ramsay, the British & Irish Lions Team Operations Manager, will visit us next year only, when we will inspect venues and get things underway," Roos told this website. "All the matters regarding how the tour will operate are likely to be finalised next year around February only." Over 50,000 Lions fans are expected to make the trip to South Africa in 2009. By Gareth Green
