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British & Irish Lions announce itinerary for 2025 Tour of Australia

The British & Irish Lions have today released the nine-match schedule for the 2025 Tour to Australia including three Test matches against the Wallabies.

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The British & Irish Lions have today released the nine-match schedule for the 2025 Tour to Australia including three Test matches against the Wallabies. Two years out from the Tour, it’s been confirmed that the eagerly awaited Test clashes will take place on 19 July, 26 July and 2 August. The Lions will travel to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney respectively for the Test matches.

2025 Lions Tour to Australia (kick off times TBC)

• 28 June, Lions vs Western Force, Perth (Optus Stadium)
• 2 July, Lions vs Queensland Reds, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
• 5 July, Lions vs NSW Waratahs, Sydney (Allianz Stadium)
• 9 July, Lions vs ACT Brumbies, Canberra (GIO Stadium)
• 12 July, Lions vs Invitational AU & NZ, Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)
• 19 July, 1st Test, Lions vs Wallabies, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
• 22 July, Lions vs Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne (Marvel Stadium)
• 26 July, 2nd Test, Lions vs Wallabies, Melbourne (Melbourne Cricket Ground/MCG)
• 2 Aug, 3rd Test, Lions vs Wallabies, Sydney (Accor Stadium)

The British & Irish Lions will travel throughout Australia with games taking place in some of the most impressive stadiums in world sport.

The Lions will begin the Tour in Perth against the Western Force before facing fellow Australian Super Rugby Pacific sides, the Queensland Reds, the NSW Waratahs, and the ACT Brumbies. The Lions will continue their preparation for the first Test by facing an invitational Australian and New Zealand team in a clash at the Adelaide Oval.

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will host the first Test on Saturday 19 July. Following this, a midweek warm up fixture against Melbourne Rebels will take place at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday 22 July.

The second Test will be played on Saturday 26 July at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which has a capacity of 100,000. A potential sell-out crowd at the renowned venue would be a record for a British & Irish Lions Test.

This Test would also represent one of the highest attendances at a rugby match in history. The final Test will be played in front of over 80,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday 2 August.

A strong partnership and a common goal between The British & Irish Lions, Premiership Rugby and the United Rugby Championship has resulted in the Lions having a two-week preparation period before the Tour commences, giving the Lions the best chance of regaining the Series on Australian soil, a country where they enjoyed their last tour win in 2013. Further detail around pre-tour activities, including a pre-tour warm up fixture, will be announced at a later stage.

Details on the Tour schedule follow the announcement of major commercial partners for the Tour, with The British & Irish Lions recently confirming global rugby brand Canterbury as official kit provider and the global insurance group Howden as official front of shirt/jersey sponsor . Confectionery brand Cadbury’s and sportswear manufacturer Asics will continue as the Wallabies official front of shirt and kit partners.

The 2025 Tour to Australia promises to be one of the most eagerly anticipated tours in history considering the absence of fans for the 2021 Tour of South Africa.

Supporters who want to be part of the greatest experience in rugby can guarantee their place for ticket-inclusive travel packages to Australia with The British & Irish Lion’s own travel company, Lions Rugby Travel.

Priority Access Passes are on sale now which will ensure a priority window on packages when they become available. Passes are fully refundable should you choose not to travel and come off your final balance when you book. To purchase Passes or for more information, click here. 

“We are delighted to announce the Tour schedule today as we look ahead to what is to be one of the most eagerly anticipated Series in history,” said Ben Calveley, CEO of The British & Irish Lions.

“I want to take the opportunity to thank Rugby Australia for the strong level of collaboration in planning for this tour and we look forward to continuing to work with them over the next two years. I would also like to thank Premiership Rugby and the United Rugby Championship, whose cooperation has resulted in the longest preparation period for a tour in recent history, which gives us the best possible chance of a Series victory. We look forward to continuing to work with our hosts and our partners to create one of the best tours ever”.

“As we begin the countdown to Australia in 2025, The British & Irish Lions brand and organisation has never been stronger with a global fan base of some 14 million people, a significant following and strong level of engagement through our various digital platforms, and a wide range of commercial partners comprised of some of the biggest brands and organisations in the world.

Our ambition is to further build upon this position and make this upcoming tour the greatest Lions tour ever, positioning it as the major global sporting event of 2025.”

Ieuan Evans, Chairman of The British & Irish Lions, added: “British & Irish Lions Tours are unique in the world of sport, both in terms of the ultimate challenge they represent and the cultural impact they have.  Lions tours to Australia have always been memorable occasions and the 2025 Tour promises to be no different.

I know how special it is to pull on that famous red jersey in Australia, having toured there during the 1989 Tour. What I have learned from those special games is how important the fans are to roaring us on to victory so to be able to announce ticket package details is very exciting.

“Being a part of The British & Irish Lions means being able to unite and inspire through extraordinary rugby experiences, and working closely with our host partners in Rugby Australia, we believe that we can provide an epic tour that will be a global sporting event not to be missed”.

Commenting on the announcement, Rugby Australia CEO, Phil Waugh said: “The British & Irish Lions Tour is one of the great sporting festivals – it is a real landmark of Australian and world sport. Rugby Australia is looking forward to welcoming back the Lions for the first time in 12 years – as well as the tens of thousands of Lions fans from the northern hemisphere.

It is an exciting fixture of matches all around the country with the Lions taking on our Super Rugby franchises, three massive Test matches, and a marquee match in Adelaide featuring a combined invitational Australia-New Zealand side.”

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The World's Greatest Tour.

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The fixtures for the 2025 Tour to Australia have now been announced and they will feature three Test matches and six Pre-Test matches. It will be the first time in eight years travelling fans will be able to see The Lions in action.

The Lions will play Test matches in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney and will be roared on by the legendary ‘Sea of Red’ – the biggest and most revered band of fans in world sport – who will swarm across Australia to create an atmosphere like no other. And you can be there too.

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When the next Lions tour is, plus key dates and fixtures for Australia 2025

Everything you need to know about the next british & irish lions tour.

The British & Irish Lions only meet up once every four years, leaving plenty of room for speculation between one tour and the next.

The captain, the starting XV, the entire squad: all make for fierce debates that will run for a few months beyond the 2025 Six Nations .

That still feels an age away, but the details are now starting to emerge for the 2025 tour of Australia.

Here’s all you need to know about the series Down Under…

When is the next Lions tour?

Why did Barry John retire? His career and achievements explained

The British & Irish Lions will play in Dublin for the first time in a warm-up match against Argentina on 20 June 2025 before heading to Australia.

The Lions will then have five more warm-up games before the first Test in Brisbane on 19 July. A midweek match against the Melbourne Rebels follows before the second Test in Melbourne on 26 July.

The tour concludes in Sydney on 2 August.

Lions 2025 fixtures and schedule in full

• Friday 20 June: Lions vs Argentina (Dublin, The Aviva Stadium)
• Saturday 28 June: Western Force vs Lions (Perth, Optus Stadium)
• Wednesday 2 July: Queensland Reds vs Lions (Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium)
• Saturday 5 July: NSW Waratahs vs Lions (Sydney, Allianz Stadium)
• Wednesday 9 July: ACT Brumbies vs Lions (Canberra, GIO Stadium)
• Saturday 12 July: Invitational AU & NZ vs Lions (Adelaide, Adelaide Oval)
• Saturday 19 July: Australia vs Lions (Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium)
• Tuesday 22 July: Melbourne Rebels vs Lions (Melbourne, Marvel Stadium)
• Saturday 26 July: Australia vs Lions (Melbourne, MCG)
• Saturday 2 August: Australia vs Lions (Sydney, Accor Stadium)

When are the Lions 2025 captain and squad announcements?

The captain and squad announcements will not be made until closer to the 2025 tour.

We can expect the announcements around one or two months ahead of the first warm-up against Argentina on 20 June 2025.

In 2021, Warren Gatland named his Lions captain, Alun Wyn Jones, and 37-man squad in early May, more than seven weeks before their first warm-up match with Japan.

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The jury is out after Jones and Johnny Sexton both retired from international rugby.

Ireland’s Conor Murray took on the captaincy when Jones was injured during the 2021 tour, but the scrum-half will be 36 come the 2025 tour and is not a certainty to be selected.

James Ryan is expected to assume the Irish captaincy from Sexton, making him a frontrunner, likewise Wales’ Jac Morgan and Scotland’s Jamie Ritchie .

England duo Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell will almost certainly be in contention. Itoje has started the Lions’ past five Tests (three vs South Africa, two prior vs New Zealand), while Farrell has been on three tours already.

And for Farrell, who recently stepped away from international rugby and could soon be ineligible for England if he moves abroad in the summer , there is likely to be a familiar face overseeing the 2025 tour…

Who is the Lions 2025 coach?

Three years is a long time in rugby but when speculating the next Lions head coach back in 2021, i named Ireland’s Andy Farrell as one of seven possibilities .

The options have since narrowed down, and Farrell was confirmed as the head coach on 11 January after Ireland gave the appointment their blessing.

IRFU performance director David Nucifora said in December that he would be “ecstatic” if Farrell took charge of the Lions, acknowledging the Irish would have to make plans for his likely sabbatical – as was the case when Warren Gatland was Wales coach but stepped away to oversee the 2013 and 2017 Lions tours.

Gatland, who was also the Lions head coach in 2021, backed Farrell to take the role, saying: “You cannot deny what Ireland have achieved as a nation over the last few years and you are starting to see the fruition of the alignment between the Irish provinces and the union. There is no doubt that Andy has done a fantastic job.”

How do I get Lions 2025 tickets?

A Lions Rugby Club membership is required, but that only guarantees access to the ticket ballot for the 2025 tour of Australia.

The £50 annual membership for adults will put you in the ballot for a pair of tickets at one of the three Test matches in Australia, as well as the ballot for the match against Argentina, on top of other benefits.

The £150 tour membership, meanwhile, puts you in the ballot for all three Test matches in Australia and guarantees each member the right to buy tickets for the Argentina match in Dublin.

The memberships must be purchased before 2 February 2024.

For ticket-inclusive travel packages, the Lions have a priority access pass available for £300. The pass allows you to beat the queue before the travel packages are made available to the public. The £300 comes off the final balance if purchased and is refunded if you decide against.

What happened at the Lions 2021 tour?

Under Gatland’s watch for the third and (now it would appear) final time in 2021, the Lions lost 2-1 to South Africa in a tour like no other.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant cancelling the tour, postponing it to 2022, or even staging it in the UK had all been options, but eventually it went ahead in South Africa behind closed doors.

What followed was an eerie and arguably easily forgotten series , although the lack of atmosphere was not exclusive to rugby union as a range of sports vowed to continue amid the pandemic.

All three Tests took place in Cape Town, and while the Lions won the first 22-17, they lost the second 27-9 before a narrow 19-16 defeat in the third.

The third Test was tied at 16-16 until Morne Steyn’s 78th-minute penalty won it for the Springboks.

Lions record vs Australia

In their 23 Tests against Australia, the Lions have won 17 and lost six matches.

The Lions have won seven of their nine series with Australia – a far better record than against New Zealand (W1 D1 L10) and South Africa (W4 D1 L9).

The last tour of Australia in 2013 was won by the Lions 2-1, a comprehensive 41-16 win in the final Test sealing the series victory.

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British and Irish Lions confirm first women's Tour to take place in 2027

British and Irish Lions have revealed plans for women's team with three-Test tour to New Zealand in 2027; New Zealand are reigning world champions, beating England in last two finals; next men's Lions tour to be in Australia in 2025 with Andy Farrell named head coach

Tuesday 16 January 2024 11:11, UK

The British and Irish Lions have confirmed plans for a first women's tour - which will send a team to New Zealand for a three-Test series in 2027.

New Zealand are the current world champions but England, who would supply the bulk of any touring party, top the global rankings with Black Ferns in second.

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New Zealand have defeated England in the previous two World Cup finals, triumphing 41-32 in Belfast in 2017 and then 34-31 in Auckland in November 2022.

The start of an exciting new chapter 🙌 A Lions Women’s team 🦁🇳🇿 See you in 2027, @blackferns 👋 #Lions2027 @RoyalLondon #Howden pic.twitter.com/3HkakyS4Po — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) January 16, 2024

The inaugural Test match series will take place in September 2027 during the women's global competition window and will not overlap with the men's Rugby World Cup 2027.

Ben Calveley, CEO British & Irish Lions, said: "Supporting the growth of the women's game is a key strategic priority for The British & Irish Lions as it is for each of our Unions.

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"Significant effort has gone into exploring the concept of a Lions Women's Tour and great credit needs to go to the members of our steering committee, our board, and our staff.

"In particular, I want to recognise the collaboration of our four Unions and thank them for their continued support and the level of commitment they have shown throughout this journey.

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"I would also like to thank World Rugby for the reforms to regulation 9 which makes this Tour possible in 2027.

"We are also very grateful to all the clubs as well as wider stakeholders who have all been very supportive and accommodating during this process.

"We look forward to collaborating further with all stakeholders over the coming months to finalise plans for this historic Tour.

"Playing three Test matches against the current world champions, the Black Ferns in New Zealand in front of thousands of fans represents the ultimate challenge and makes for a fantastic sporting spectacle.

"We look forward to working with all our stakeholders including New Zealand Rugby to finalise an exciting inaugural Tour." 

A historic day for the Lions as we introduce.... 🦁 A Lions Women's team 🇳🇿 Playing the @BlackFerns in 2027 in New Zealand 🤝 @RoyalLondon as our Founding Partner 🙌 #Howden as our Series Title Partner Click the video to find out more! 👇 #Lions2027 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) January 16, 2024

Mark Robinson, New Zealand Rugby CEO added: "When the opportunity arose to be part of history and have the honour of hosting the inaugural British & Irish Lions Women's Tour, we knew we wanted to be part of it.

"Women's rugby is growing at pace in New Zealand and following the success of the Rugby World Cup in 2022, we know the excitement world class competition can generate.

"There will be anticipation around the country about the prospect of hosting the Lions and we look forward to announcing venues and match schedules in the future.

"The Lions and New Zealand have a long and storied history in the men's game, and we cannot wait to help write a new chapter in the rivalry - this time between the Lions Women and the Black Ferns."

The next men's Lions tour is to Australia in 2025 with Andy Farrell announced as head coach.

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