British & Irish Lions: Warren Gatland visits Guernsey for talks over pre-tour base
- Published
Gatland has been running the rule over Lions contenders during the recent Six Nations
Warren Gatland has visited Guernsey as the British & Irish Lions consider using the Channel Islands for a pre-tour training camp in June.
The Lions are also exploring the option of staying on Jersey as they prepare for their South Africa tour.
Officials in Guernsey said hosting the Lions was "a fantastic opportunity".
Gatland was given special permission to visit the island "alone and under very tight restrictions" in light of Guernsey's Covid restrictions.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority, said the New Zealander was allowed to visit in order to assess the quality of the island's facilities.
Gatland was not required to isolate, with director of public health Dr Nicola Brink saying it was "a short visit over two days that was very tightly controlled".
The Lions announced recently they still intend to tour South Africa as planned after rejecting contingency options of staging matches in either the UK and Ireland, or Australia.
They are scheduled to play their first game in South Africa against the Stormers on 3 July with a further four matches before the three-game Test series against the Springboks, starting on 24 July.