Scotland's Gregor Townsend to coach British & Irish Lions' attack in Test series against South Africa; Lions head coach Warren Gatland to name his assistant coaches on Tuesday
Sunday 11 April 2021 12:44, UK
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend will be the British & Irish Lions' attack coach for their tour of South Africa.
Warren Gatland's assistant coaches will be announced on Tuesday, with Steve Borthwick, Graham Rowntree, Neil Jenkins and Andy Farrell in contention.
Townsend led Scotland to fourth in the recent Six Nations championship, beating England, France and Italy.
The Lions' tour of South Africa is scheduled for July and August, ending with three Tests against the world champion Springboks.
The team's first match is a warm-up encounter against Japan at Murrayfield on June 26 with the first Test taking place on July 24 in Johannesburg.
It was confirmed in March that the tour would go ahead as planned but no decision has yet been made over whether or not fans will be allowed into stadiums for the matches.
Lions chairman Jason Leonard accepts the summer tour to South Africa will be unlike any before it because of the coronavirus pandemic and with potential changes to the schedule.
"We're looking at all options. The only thing that's 100 per cent is we're not going to have a traditional Lions tour in whatever shape or form," Leonard said.
"We won't get the tour we want, South Africa won't get the tour they want, the players most probably won't get the tour they want and the fans won't get the fan experience they want."
