Johannesburg (AFP)

The British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa will take place as scheduled in July and August 2021, the South African Rugby Federation announced on Wednesday.

Uncertain weather due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Lions' tour will therefore take place over eight games between July 3 and August 7.

The team, which brings together the best players from Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland, has been led since 2013 by New Zealander Warren Gatland, current coach of the Chiefs franchise after twelve years at the head of XV of Leek.

The Lions will challenge the South African world champions three times, on July 24 and 31 and then on August 7.

The first of three tests will take place at Soweto stadium in the suburbs of Johannesburg, which hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

If the match is sold out, with its capacity of approximately 88,000 seats, it would break the current record for a meeting of the Lions which is 84,188 spectators in the third match against Australia in Sydney in 2001.

Organized every four years, the British and Irish Lions' tour remains a major media and sporting event in Anglo-Saxon rugby union.

The British and Irish Lions have already toured South Africa thirteen times. The last one, in 2009, had resulted in two local successes (victories 26-21 and 28-25, defeat 28-9).

Tour program:

- July 3, 2021: British and Irish Lions - Stormers at Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

- July 7: British and Irish Lions - South African selection "by invitation" at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

- July 10: British and Irish Lions - Sharks at Jonsson King Park, Durban

- July 14: British and Irish Lions - South Africa "A" at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

- July 17: British and Irish Lions - Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

- July 24 (first Test): South Africa - British and Irish Lions at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg

- July 31 (second Test): South Africa - British and Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

- August 7 (third Test): South Africa - British and Irish Lions at the Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

© 2020 AFP