Sky Sports has announced a packed schedule of programming for its coverage of the British & Irish Lions 2021 Castle Lager Series in South Africa – complete with archive footage, documentaries and exclusive behind the scenes content available in addition to five Lions warm-up games and of course the three Test matches.
The Tour became of even greater interest to Irish fans over the weekend as Conor Murray was named as Captain in place of the injured Alun Wynn Jones.
Murray echos the role of Tom Crean who captained the Lions on their 1896 Tour also as a replacement for an injured colleague. Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Ciaran Fitzgerald and Willia John McBride have all captained Tours in the modern era.
Sky Sports is creating a specific channel, The Lions channel as the home of the Series. The pop-up channel – available on Sky and streaming service NOW – will provide round the clock coverage of the tour for 24 days of coverage as Warren Gatland’s squad take on the World Champions.
Rugby fans will be able to watch a total of eight live games from the tour, kicking off with the first warm-up game against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg on 3rd July. On the 2nd of July, Sky Sports and NOW members will be able to see the Lions’ opposition in action as South Africa take on Georgia in a warm-up game for the hosts.
Replacing Sky Sports Action from Saturday 17th July until 10th August, the new pop-up channel will be the place to take in the final warm-up game for the Lions against DHL Stormers before the three-Test matches get underway. Rugby fans will be able to watch the preceding four warm-up games in South Africa live on Sky Sports Arena until the pop-up channel launches on 17th July.
Host Alex Payne will be joined by legends of the game including Ireland’s very own leading points-scorer Ronan O’Gara, former Lions and Wales captain Sam Warburton, as well as England’s World Cup winners Will Greenwood and Maggie Alphonsi. Four-time Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan and Nigel Owens – the highest capped referee of all time – will also add their expert insight and analysis from the studio, Reporter Sarra Elgan will be on the ground in South Africa with former South Africa winger Bryan Habana. Conor McNamara will provide the commentary for every match of the Tour to complete the Sky Sports line-up.
Lions fans can look forward to daily content across social media, the coverage of the Lions tour will also include an hour of build-up and post-match analysis, increasing to 90 minutes of build-up for the Test matches. In addition, following the launch of the pop-up channel, rugby fans can enjoy a leisurely start to Sundays, as they take in the Lions Breakfast Show – a look back at events from the previous day’s matches, dissecting newspaper analysis, and more.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the British & Irish Lions to bring our viewers a seventh consecutive Lions tour – a partnership that has now entered its 25th year – and we’re looking forward to seeing some thrilling rugby played in South Africa against the current World Champions,” said Sky Sports Managing Director Johnathan Licht
“With fans unable to cheer on the Lions in person, we’re pleased to be able to bring the best of the action to the Sea of Red back home.”
The Lions Tour of South Africa adds to an already busy line-up of sport on Sky Sports this summer. Golf sees The Open take place at Royal St. George’s from 15th July. As well as that, Sky Sports is the home of domestic football with the Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership being joined for the first time by the FA Women’s Super League on Sky Sports.
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