The British & Irish Lions' postponed tour match against the Bulls could still take place, says the Pretoria side's CEO Edgar Rathbone, but it would likely be played in Cape Town.
The fixture, which was due to be played this Saturday, was postponed on Tuesday after multiple positive coronavirus cases in the Bulls camp were recorded. As such, the team went into isolation and the fixture postponed per the tour's rules.
Rathbone, as quoted on News24, said that the likeliest date for the new match would be once the Lions are already in their Cape Town bubble later in the month.
He said: "The option on the table at the moment is the Tuesday before the first Test [20 July]. That's the first option, I don't know if there will be an option between Tests... it's not on the schedule... but this [tour] happens every 12 years so hopefully there is a chance.
"If you have to look at it logically then it would probably be in Cape Town as the Lions will [then] be in their bubble over there."
He added that there would certainly be enough players left in his squad to face the Lions, should a new date be arranged: "The reality is that it's just five players [who tested positive]. We have a group of 45 players.
"As soon as the other players test negative, it means those players who tested positive would likely not be able to play against the British Lions if that match gets rescheduled."
Pretoria and Johannesburg, the main cities in the Gauteng province, are at the epicentre of South Africa's third wave, with nearly six times the daily cases of the rest of the country's provinces, and battling the near-ubiquitous Delta variant.
Currently, South Africa's national team players are in isolation as well, after six players and staff, including head coach Jacques Nienaber, tested positive earlier in the week. As such, Friday's second Test against Georgia, who also have positive cases, has been called off.
But the tour is set to go on, says Rathbone, who feels that while financial concerns are real, it's more about how much it would mean to players in South Africa to face the storied Lions side.
He added: "There's commercial value on the whole tour so it's not only an impact on us, but on the industry as a whole.
"[But] it's more about having a group of players who were excited to play against the British Lions and it's an opportunity which likely only happens once in a young guy's life... that's almost the biggest disappointment.
"Financial [issues] come a go, but that opportunity is over if [the match cannot take place] unfortunately."
Meanwhile, the Lions' match against the Sharks is set to go ahead on Wednesday, with no positive cases recorded in either camp at this stage.