Springboks RG Snyman, Damian de Allende and Malcolm Marx have been left stranded in Japan and could be there for the duration of South Africa’s national lockdown period.
The trio, who were part of Rassie Erasmus’ World Cup-winning Springbok squad in 2019, play club rugby in Japan. But after the Japan Rugby Football Union cancelled its domestic season due to the Covid-19 health crisis, players were released by their clubs to return to their own countries.
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However, Snyman, De Allende and Marx were among a group of South African players who were unable to find flights home as the airline industry was thrown into chaos, and are now stuck in Japan because most countries have closed their borders, making air travel extremely difficult.
In an interview with Afrikaans newspaper Rapport, Snyman said they are still trying to get home but admitted that it is highly unlikely to happen while South Africa is in a state of lockdown.
‘We booked a flight when they announced the lockdown, so we could be home before it started. Then they cancelled that flight,’ Snyman said.
‘We booked a flight for the next day and that was cancelled too. Our initially-booked flight back home in May has now also been cancelled.
‘And now nobody wants to fly back to South Africa until the lockdown is over. We will have to wait until it is over and then see when we can fly.’
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Photo: Getty Images
