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Relief for Lions as player who tested positive is now a negative

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Saturday’s new Lions fixture seemingly hinges on whether the unnamed player who tested positive on Wednesday and has since tested negative on Thursday tests negative again on Friday so that all his six close contacts can be released from isolation and become available for selection for a match hastily arranged against the Sharks due to the unavailability of the Covid-hit Bulls. 

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The Lions confirmed on Tuesday that their Bulls match in Pretoria had fallen by the wayside and after eventually managing to play their match versus the Sharks on Wednesday despite an outbreak within their own camp, the Sharks have been lined up again to provide the opposition next Saturday due to the Bulls pull-out.   

Warren Gatland was forced into making eight changes to his originally selected matchday 23 shortly before kick-off on Wednesday, even selecting a seven/one forwards/backs split on the bench, and team selection to face the Sharks in their fixture is on hold until there is clarification whether the player who initially tested positive and then tested negative and his six self-isolating player close contacts are available. 

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RugbyPass Fanzone on whether the Lions tour will be cancelled

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RugbyPass Fanzone on whether the Lions tour will be cancelled

It has also yet to be decided when the two other Lions players identified as close contacts of the staff member who has tested positive for Covid can come out of isolation. Lions managing director Ben Calveley explained: “Yesterday morning [Wednesday] we had one member of the management team test Covid positive. He had four close contacts, two of whom were players and two were staff, so we immediately isolated that group. They went into self-isolation. 

“We then surge tested the whole of the rest of the tour part, both lateral flow and PCR tests. All of those tests came back negative apart from one player who returned what is called the single gene positive, which in other words is a very low level positive. But just out of caution we then isolated that player and all of his close contacts and we were then advised by our medical advisory committee that we had to test that individual again today which we have now done. 

“Thankfully that test came back negative. He has to test again tomorrow [Friday] and if that also comes back negative then he and all of his close contacts will be released back into the bubble and then they will be available for selection for the game that we have announced for Saturday against the Sharks.”

What about the close contacts of the Covid-positive Lions staff member? “The member of management tested positive, that is a genuine positive and the close contacts associated with that person are isolated… they stay in isolation according to the recommendation of our medical advisory group and we have meetings with them coming up to just determine that [for how long].”

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Calveley insisted the tour would remain in South Africa, that the Lions and the Springboks won’t be jumping on a plane to play their games in the UK or anywhere else, but he admitted there were discussions ongoing about potentially staging the second and third Tests in Cape Town rather than returning to the Gauteng region as currently planned.  

“We are in a biosecure bubble here so we are protected as much as we can be. There is nobody coming in and out of our facility. We have the players, we have the management team, we have the hotel staff but everybody here lives in the bubble, nobody comes and goes so the hotel staff don’t go home in the evening for example and then reintegrate the next day. 

“They live on-site here as well and there are very few hotel staff, so actually our bubble is as secure as it can be and what you don’t want to do is bring risk into the camp by having more time spent travelling around the country. The more times you travel the more opportunity there is for Covid to be introduced into the camp via somebody who is outside of that environment.” 

Calveley admitted in a live TV interview before Wednesday’s game that not everyone in the Lions tour party had been double-jabbed, generated concern that this lack of full immunisation could leave them vulnerable to further outbreaks, but the managing director refused to view the lack of complete double-jabbing as an issue.  

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“Everybody has a right to make their own decision on whether they want to be vaccinated. We have a number of strategies in place to mitigate the risk in any environment and it’s wrong for anybody to think that vaccination is some sort of universal panacea. 

“I am afraid it is not so we have an approach where it is multi-layered where, as well as having the majority of the party being vaccinated, we are also exhibiting all the right behaviours that I have spoken about before. 

“We are getting tested three times a week if not more, we’re socially distancing, we’re well ventilated, we’re observing hand hygiene, we are wearing masks, we are not integrating with the public and we are travelling very, very infrequently so we have got a pretty robust set of protocols in place that will keep is as safe as we possibly can.

“I don’t think we are going to get into a conversation about who is and isn’t vaccinated. I’d just make the point again that the very high majority of the party are double-jabbed… We just see that as one strand of a very robust Covid mitigation strategy that involves all the other areas that I talked about previously.”

 

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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