Stuart Hogg faces health take a look at as Covid casts shadow over Lions tour

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Stuart Hogg led the British and Irish Lions to defeat the Sigma Lions at the start of the tour.  Image: David Rogers / Getty ImagesStuart Hogg led the British and Irish Lions to defeat the Sigma Lions at the start of the tour. Image: David Rogers / Getty Images

The Scottish captain, who is one of the substitutes for the game at Emirates Airline Park, has a dead end.

Hogg led the Lions to a 56-14 win over the Sigma Lions in the Joburg tour kick-off on Saturday, but tourists will be on the safe side when it comes to the Sharks game.

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“Hogg has a bit of a dead leg so we’ll probably make a decision tomorrow morning to see how he holds up,” said Steve Tandy, the Lions defense coach.

Covid continues to cast a shadow on the tour and the news that Saturday’s game against the Bulls in Pretoria has been postponed is a major setback.

The Lions haven’t given up hope of postponing the game or finding alternate opponents – the series rules provide for additional games to be added during the week – but it’s hard to see where the game might fit.

Perhaps more worrying is the spread of the coronavirus in the Springboks camp. Lock-forward Lood de Jager tested positive on Monday, and now four other players – second row Marvin Orie, center Frans Steyn, stand-off Handre Pollard and Prop Frans Malherbe – along with six members of the management team including Head have positive, positive Tests returned coach Jacques Nienaber and a masseuse.

South Africa’s game against Georgia on Friday appears to be canceled amid growing concerns over the first Test against the Lions scheduled for two weeks on Saturday.

Stuart Hogg is in doubt for the Lions’ game against the Sharks due to a dead man. Image: David Rogers / AFP via Getty Images

The Delta variant is hitting South Africa hard and with health care strained to the point, rugby will appear to be a minor problem for many as a third wave of infections that runs through a largely unvaccinated population.

Doubts will now arise about the wisdom of moving the tour forward as the host country battles a deepening crisis that has resulted in a tough lockdown that includes curfew, alcohol bans, travel restrictions and school closings.

With this in mind, the Lions continue to prepare for a series of tests against the world champions. Tandy says players will continue to focus on the task at hand as they prepare to face the Sharks and Sigma Lions after the victories over Japan in the Edinburgh farewell game.

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British and Irish Lions vs Bulls have been canceled due to Covid, while South Africa vs Geo …Dan Biggar during a Lions training session in Johannesburg prior to the Sharks Match. Image: David Rogers / AFP via Getty Images

“There’s a lot of speculation, but that didn’t affect the mood in the camp,” said the coach. “The boys trained this morning and everyone is just prepared for Wednesday evening.

“We just focus on getting better, improving, and building on the last few accomplishments. There are a few more people who are making their Lions debut on Wednesday, so these are exciting times and we really just focus on ourselves. “

This tour is shorter than the previous ones, with only five scheduled games before the test series. Losing the Bulls game reduces that number to four and limits the ability of players to put their hands up for test selection. But Tandy is pragmatic enough to know that flexibility is a requirement for this tour.

“We have to adapt and what will be will be,” he said. “We see the guys training, we’d like to believe that everyone would have had the chance to put their names in their hats for the test series, we see them every day. I think people can make it harder than it is.

“The competition will be difficult because the standard in training and in the games is huge. I don’t think it’s going to make that much of a difference. “

Prior to confirming that the Bulls game was canceled, the coach said he was unsure how the Lions would adjust their training for a possible postponement, with a practice game being an option.

“I think we will consider whether we might have to give the boys an extra day off or whether we need the internal game or maybe a more stressful contact day,” said Tandy.

“As coaches we talk about it, but I think through Covid what you learn [is] you have to adapt. You may have the best plans, but things go really fast. It is just prepared to be prepared for whatever comes our way at any time.

“We might give an extra day off, maybe we’ll train a little harder on Friday.”

Tandy expects the Sharks to be a tougher game than the tourists at the weekend, but rejected suggestions that the Lions had not yet been tested.

“I think the Japanese game really put us under pressure, if I’m honest,” he said. “The way they played was amazing and I think we learned a lot from that game considering we were only together for two weeks.

“The Sharks have a young team and play a bit more expansive defensively. They have lively players in the back three, with a number 8 in possession of the ball, so we know the Sharks want to be really ambitious, so we have to level up.

“Wednesday is another opportunity for people to bring their case to play [in the Tests]. The standard of training is excellent, there is competition among the players, but we still make sure that we are all on the same level. It is really very open to these test sites. “

British and Irish lions (versus the Sharks, Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg, Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. BST):

L. Williams (Scarlet, Wales); A Watson (Bath Rugby, England), E Daly (Saracens, England), B Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland), D van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland); D Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales), G Davies (Scarlets, Wales); M Vunipola (Saracens, England), L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England), Z Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland), I Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland, Capt), A Beard (Ospreys, Wales), J Navidi ( Cardiff Rugby, Wales), T Curry (Sale Sharks, England), S Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England).

Replacement: K Owens (Scarlets, Wales), R Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland), T Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), T Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland), J Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), C Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland), S. Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland), C. Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland).

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