Springboks in isolation after positive Covid test

South Africa cancelled training on Monday after Lood de Jager tested positive for Covid-19.

The Springboks are preparing for their second Test against Georgia in Johannesburg on Friday night but the playing squad has now been placed in preventative isolation and will undergo further polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

Sale Sharks lock de Jager’s positive result came as part of scheduled testing and because of his close contact with several players, the entire squad has gone into isolation.

The Medical Advisory Group (MAG) will review the new test data to decide whether the whole squad needs to remain in isolation, which would put Friday’s Test in doubt.

This is the second time in a week that the world champions have been hit by Covid.

Three players tested positive last Sunday (one was later found to be a false positive) so a planned training session was cancelled and the squad went into isolation as a precaution before being cleared to resume training the following day.

The Springboks went on to beat Georgia 40-9 in Pretoria last Friday – their first Test for 20 months – and will be hoping to make it two wins from two this week, but the latest Covid case raises serious questions over whether that second match can take place.

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It’s far from ideal preparation for the Boks as they build up to the three-Test series against the British & Irish Lions 2021.

SA Rugby will provide a further update on next steps following the further testing and MAG review.

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