Rugby: Reds arrival in South Africa delayed 15 hours after team was barred from flight

Caleb Timu of Reds catches the ball during a match against the Jaguares. Photo / Getty Images

The Queensland Reds have been forced to make an unexpected detour to London after they were barred from boarding their flight to South Africa ahead of their Super Rugby clash with the Stormers.

The Reds' travel plans were thrown into disarray at Sao Paolo International Airport in Brazil, where they arrived on Monday morning (AEDT) after winning 18-7 over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the weekend.

In an example of the unique pitfalls of a cross-continental competition, it's understood officials from South Africa Airways informed them they were not allowed onto the plane for their scheduled flight to Johannesburg because they had not been vaccinated for yellow fever.

However the travel advice the Reds had received indicated it wasn't a requirement, since yellow fever is prevalent mainly in the northern part of Argentina and not the nation's capital, where they played the Jaguares.

It's also believed inoculation for yellow fever for Super Rugby teams visiting Argentina is not specified in SANZAAR's tournament manual.

The Reds have instead flown to London and, once there, will fly straight back down to South Africa.

All up, it means the team's arrival in Cape Town will be delayed about 15 hours.

Coach Brad Thorn took the opportunity to reinforce some pre-season messages, gathering his players in Sao Paolo and encouraging them to embrace the adversity.

The Reds will be hunting a fourth straight win when they face the Stormers at Newlands on Sunday morning (NZT).

"We're just going to throw the kitchen sink at it and give it our all," said Queensland's South African-born prop Ruan Smith.

"There's a lot of guys in the group who haven't played there and your first time playing in Cape Town, it's always special.

"It's a big crowd always, an enjoyable stadium to play in.

"We're just going to go out and enjoy it. We've got nothing to lose."