The price of keeping those involved with the British & Irish Lions tour from the clutches of Covid-19 might result in further losses for SA Rugby.
The cash-strapped organisation has had to dig deep to remain compliant with a myriad Covid-19 regulations and protocols and despite the broadcast revenue they are expecting to generate from the tour, they might still be out of pocket.
A tour is a huge expense normally but with no paying spectators SA Rugby was always on a financial tightrope staging the tour.
With no touring fans a projected R6bn injection into the SA economy was never going to be realised.
"We will be financially hit regardless of whether we call the tour off or whether we carry on. It is too early to call," SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said.
"There are so many different things we have to do. There are all these tests that we have to perform and they will add up at the end of the day. We have testing stations at all the hotels the teams are staying at and we have testing stations at the stadiums. The last thing we want is for people to get sick. We don't know where it will end up.
"There are people in hospital. The Georgia coach is in hospital. We are paying those bills. This thing is attacking us from all angles," said an exasperated Alexander.
SA Rugby now has wider considerations. The country has been buffeted by bad news and this week's unrest has further darkened the mood.
"I think by carrying on with the tour we at least have something positive, something to take people's minds off all the other things that are happening in SA. It will give them something else to think about.
"When you turn on the television to the news channels you see people who are hungry and people dying of Covid. We need to change the narrative here.
"The Springboks are just a rugby team. It doesn't make up the laws of the country. But everybody must play their part in this country," said Alexander.
How exactly the show will go on, however, isn't clear.
The pandemic has presented the organisers with hard challenges and the unrest has only exacerbated matters.
The venue for the second and third Tests is still in the balance. The matches are at FNB Stadium on July 31 and August 7 but Gauteng's status as the epicentre of the country's new Covid-19 cases, as well as the unrest in the province, may force the organisers into a rethink. They have a bit of time though.
"Those decisions are made jointly by ourselves and the Lions," insisted Alexander. "That we will do a little later. To make a decision like that three weeks before the time is madness. Things change on a daily basis."
He said it was SA Rugby's wish to still play those Tests, the last two matches of the tour, in Johannesburg, before adding: "But we will make the right decision at the right time."
Lions coach Warren Gatland said last week he expected the entire Test series to be played in Cape Town. Playing all three Tests at sea level will suit the tourists.
To be fair, they were able to play with lung-busting energy and high tempo in their three matches on the Highveld at the start of the tour.
Given the challenges the tour has presented the organisers, Alexander said at no point was it in danger of being called off.
"Not at all. From the health department, and other different departments in government to Cosatu (Congress of SA Trade Unions) and Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council), we are all fighting for the same thing but we are using different words.
"We are in this thing together.
"The Lions have also worked well with us. They have been so positive. We are all trying our best to make this thing happen in a safe environment."
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