British & Irish Lions
Final Lions fixture confirmed
Scrum.com
January 22, 2009
An artist's impression of the Nelson Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Janaury 13, 2009
An artist's impression of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth that will be completed next month ahead of the Lions' visit later this year © Getty Images
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The date for the match between the British & Irish Lions and a Coastal XV has been confirmed for June 16 in Port Elizabeth.

The fixture, which immediately precedes the first Test against the Springboks, take place on a Tuesday afternoon, three days after the Lions have faced Currie Cup outfit Western Province in Cape Town.

SA Rugby sought and was granted dispensation from government to play the match on the Youth Day public holiday. The match will kick off at 3pm at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The clash with the Coastal XV is the only midweek fixture to kick off at 3pm, with the matches against the Golden Lions, the Sharks and Emerging South Africa all beginning at 7.10pm.

The Lions begin their first tour of South Africa since 1997 with a match against a Highveld XV on Saturday, May 30, with the tour coming to an end after the third Test against the world champions in Johannesburg on Saturday, July 4.

The full schedule is now as follows:
Sat, May 30 (3pm) Highveld XV v Lions (Rustenburg)
Wed, June 3 (7-10pm) Xerox Golden Lions v Lions (Johannesburg)
Sat, June 6 (3pm) Vodacom Free State Cheetahs v Lions (Bloemfontein)
Wed, June 10 (7-10pm) Sharks v Lions (Durban)
Sat, June 13 (3pm) Vodacom WP v Lions (Cape Town)
Tues, June 16 (3pm) Coastal XV v Lions (Port Elizabeth)
Sat June 20 (3pm) South Africa v Lions (Durban)
Tues, June 23 (7-10pm) Emerging SA v Lions (Cape Town)
Sat, June 27 (3pm) South Africa v Lions (Pretoria)
Sat, July 4 (3pm) South Africa v Lions (Johannesburg)

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