It is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of the Lions tour - who should be in the squad, who should be in the matchday team, who should be captain etc, etc - but you also have to to ask yourself, should this tour even be happening?

I've said it before, given the circumstances around the Covid pandemic, this Tour is likely to be a tour in name only, but as the Lions land in South Africa it is becoming increasingly evident that utter chaos is awaiting the touring party, with the country entering another period of severe restrictions thanks to a 3rd wave of infections sweeping the nation.

The Springbok Squad is currently unable to train, with players self-isolating following positive tests for 3 squad members; there is talk of of shifting the whole tour to Cape Town (away from Gauteng which is being badly affected by the 3rd wave); rumours abound about the possible cancellation of warm up games prior to the scheduled three Tests; all matches will inevitably now be behind closes doors; and it looks as if local lockdown restrictions will mean that non-playing Lions squad may not even be allowed to attend the Test matches. 

I appreciate that economic considerations are important here and I understand that the Lions have received assurances that the tour will go ahead, but as far as I can see it is getting clearer by the day that this tour is becoming less and less feasible.