The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa.
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
Robert Howley is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. As a player, he won 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain. He was part of the Wales coaching staff from 2008 to 2019. He is currently a coaching consultant for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby (MLR).
Andrew David Farrell is an English professional rugby union coach and former player for both rugby league and rugby union. Farrell has been head coach of the Ireland national team since 2019.
Warren David Gatland is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wales national team.
Nathan Patrick Grey is a former Australian rugby union footballer, who played mostly at centre, sometimes flyhalf. He is currently the defence coach for the New South Wales Waratahs and the Australian national team.
Alun Wyn Jones is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps for Wales and 13 for the British & Irish Lions, and also holds the records for the most Wales caps and the second most Wales caps as captain. He retired from rugby in 2023.
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb of East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Built in 2010, it is a rectangular sporting stadium with a capacity of 30,050, and is the home of various rugby league, rugby union and association football teams.
Kurtley James Beale is an Australian professional rugby union representative player who has made over 90 national representative appearances in a ten-year playing career at the world-class level. He is of Aboriginal descent, has had a long Super Rugby career with the New South Wales Waratahs and has played for the Melbourne Rebels and the Wasps club in England. Beale usually plays at full-back or centre but can play fly-half or winger. In 2011 Beale received the John Eales Medal, awarded to Australian rugby's Player of the Year.
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne that competed in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. The club shared its name with a former Australian Rugby Championship team, but was unrelated. The team played home matches at AAMI Park.
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for Harlequins in the English Premiership. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
Rugby union in Victoria describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Victoria in Australia. The code was first introduced some time between the 1850s and 1880s but remained a minor sport played primarily in the private schools and amongst interstate expats. This has changed, particularly since the professionalisation of the game in the mid 1990s.
The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-test series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a Combined New South Wales–Queensland Country team, and a match en route to Australia against the Barbarians.
The Super League Test series was a rugby three-test match series between the Great Britain Lions and Super League's Australian national team held during November 1997 in England. Named the British Gas Test series due to sponsorship from Centrica's British Gas brand, it went to a decider in the third test that was won by Australia.
Nic Stirzaker is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is scrum-half and most recently played for the Montauban in the Pro D2. Prior to that he represented the Rebels in Super Rugby and Melbourne Rising in the National Rugby Championship and Bristol Bears in Premiership Rugby.
The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played ten matches: against all five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises, the NZ Provincial Barbarians, the Māori All Blacks and three test matches against New Zealand.
The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour that took place in South Africa in July and August 2021. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played a three-match test series against South Africa, and tour matches against three of South Africa's four United Rugby Championship teams and South Africa A.
In July 2022, Ireland played a 3 match test series against New Zealand as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union internationals. Ireland also played two matches against the Māori All Blacks. This was Ireland's first tour since their tour to Australia in 2018, their first tour to New Zealand since 2012, and their first encounter against New Zealand since November 2021.
Andy Farrell 
