Lions to play five games at altitude as revised schedule is revealed

The British and Irish Lions will face five of their eight touring games at altitude according to the revised schedule revealed by Supersport, the home broadcaster for the British and Irish Lions.

Supersport revealed the itinerary on their First XV programme.  It reveals a wildly different look from the initial schedule which was to start in Cape Town, visit Port Elizabeth, Durban and Nelspruit.

However, due to the pandemic and the need to remain in biosecure bubbles, the Lions will now remain in Johannesburg for the first three games, playing one in Pretoria.

They will then travel to Cape Town for two pre-test games against South Africa A and the Stormes before the first test match.

The second two tests are set to take place in Johannesburg. It is rumoured that the two tests will take place at FNB Stadium, the 80 000+ built for the 2010 Rugby World Cup. 

With hopes remaining that there will be spectators, the tests in Johannesburg are likely to take place at FNB Stadium with warm-up games likely to be hosted at Ellis Park.

The game against the South African Invitational side has also been replaced with a game against the Lions. 

The new schedule is set to be officially released on Wednesday.