It will get worse before it gets better

IS IT FOOTBALL, OR ACTUALLY A SECTION OF THE BRITISH POPULATION, THAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Sitting my editorial suite in Rust Towers was an interesting experience once J.S. Bird’s strident post yesterday on the aftermath of 2020/2021 Euros tournament had “hit the airwaves”.

It would be fair to say that our postbag received a number of strong reactions to both – or indeed all – sides of his thesis and later in the day I noted there were a number of pieces in the media on similar theme.

Here’s a link to one by Rupert Hawksley that appeared upon the website of – THE INDEPENDENT

THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA

Our sports editor Tom Hollingsworth holds to his original view that – in all the circumstances – the British & Irish Tour to South Africa should never have gone ahead.

Now just over a fortnight into the tour it seems the chickens are coming home to roost almost on a daily basis.

Apart from the threat of Covid – South Africa is in the grip of a major wave of inflections – which has resulted in both the Lions and South African national squads having incidents of positive tests  (and then both mandatory self-isolations and cancelled games), major issues given how truncated the 2021 Lions’ tour schedule is.

It is now inevitable that neither squad will to be “battle-hardened ready” by the time the Test match series begins.

Furrthermore, South Africa is now in the grip of a bout of serious civil unrest – see here for a report by Chris Pleasant and Kate Dennett that appears today upon the website of the – DAILY MAIL