The Rainbow Cup, which was meant to complete the season for Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, is in trouble after reports in South Africa that their teams have been told they cannot take part.
The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers were supposed to join 12 sides from the Guinness Pro14 in the tournament starting next week but Covid-19 regulations have thrown that into doubt. “We have little information at this stage but it seems to be the case that the Rainbow Cup will be cancelled,” Eduard Coetzee, Sharks’ chief executive, said.
Reports say the South African sides have been told there is no point in them applying for visas for players and staff because the UK government has not cleared the quarantine arrangements. They are said to be particularly concerned about the South African variant of the virus coming in with the teams.
The plan was for the four teams to stay in a bubble based in Bristol and commute from there to matches in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. As things stand, however, anybody arriving from South Africa has to quarantine in isolation — which would rule out training — and authorities in England are not prepared to create an exemption so that the tournament can go ahead.
There is still a glimmer of hope, however. Though the competition is scheduled to start next week, the South Africans are not due in Europe until the end of next month. The first three rounds see the South African sides playing each other in their own country while the two Scottish sides open with fixtures against Italian opponents before taking on each other in two derbies.
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The South African sides are due to play their first games in Europe on May 29 with further fixtures on June 5 and 12 and the final on June 19. The British and Irish Lions tour is scheduled to kick off at BT Murrayfield on June 26, a homecoming for Gregor Townsend, the Scotland head coach, who is set to be named as the Lions attack coach tomorrow.
Losing the Rainbow Cup would bring huge problems for both camps before the tour. Without it, Scottish, Welsh and Irish players would be seriously short of match fitness but the position would be even worse for the Springboks who have have not played as a team since the World Cup final in 2019. Only the local Currie Cup has provided their players with any action.
•Guinness Six Nations organisers are in talks about the staging of the Scotland versus Italy women’s international due to be played at Scotstoun on Saturday, the day of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. A spokesperson said they are “co-ordinating with other events” on how to respond to the clash. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5pm.
