2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia

Last updated

2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
Date28 June – 2 August 2025
Coach(es)Flag of England.svg Andy Farrell

The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia is an international rugby union tour scheduled to take place in Australia between June and August 2025. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, are scheduled to play a three-match test series against the Australia national team, as well as matches against Australia's four Super Rugby franchises and one against an invitational side made up of players from Australia and New Zealand, with one additional opponent to be announced. Ireland coach Andy Farrell was appointed as the Lions' head coach for the tour in January 2024.

Contents

Schedule

The fixtures for the tour were announced on 19 July 2023. [1] The tour will culminate with a three-match test series between the British & Irish Lions and the Australia national team, and will also feature matches against Australia's five Super Rugby franchises. The Lions will open the tour with matches against the Western Force, Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs and ACT Brumbies. They were due to face the Melbourne Rebels in the week between the first and second tests, however the Rebels were disbanded in 2024. [2] New opponents for this fixture will be announced in due course. The week before the first test, they will play a match in Adelaide against an invitational team made up of players from Australia and New Zealand. [1] [3] A warm-up match against Argentina, to be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 20 June 2025, was announced on 7 December 2023; it will be the Lions' first ever match in Ireland. [4]

DateHome teamScoreAway teamVenue
20 JuneBritish & Irish Lionsv Argentina Aviva Stadium, Dublin
28 June Western Force vBritish & Irish Lions Perth Stadium, Perth
2 July Queensland Reds vBritish & Irish Lions Lang Park, Brisbane
5 July New South Wales Waratahs vBritish & Irish Lions Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
9 July ACT Brumbies vBritish & Irish Lions Canberra Stadium, Canberra
12 July Invitational AU & NZ vBritish & Irish Lions Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
19 July Australia vBritish & Irish Lions Lang Park, Brisbane
22 JulyTBAvBritish & Irish Lions Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
26 July Australia vBritish & Irish Lions Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
2 August Australia vBritish & Irish Lions Stadium Australia, Sydney

Venues

Sydney Melbourne
Sydney Football Stadium Stadium Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground Docklands Stadium
Capacity: 42,500 [5] Capacity: 83,500 [6] Capacity: 100,024 [7] Capacity: 56,347 [8]
SydneyFootballStadium Aug2022 Pre-open.jpg 2022 NRLGF stadium.jpg 2017 AFL Grand Final panorama during national anthem.jpg Marvel Stadium from an aerial perspective. Feb 2019.jpg
Brisbane Adelaide
Lang Park Adelaide Oval
Capacity: 52,500 [9] Capacity: 53,500 [10]
Suncorp Stadium, April 2024 (Reds v Blues).jpg Adelaide city centre view crop (cropped).jpg
Perth Canberra
Perth Stadium Canberra Stadium
Capacity: 60,000 [11] Capacity: 25,000 [12]
Perth Stadium opening 210118 gnangarra-12.jpg BruceStadium19032005.JPG

Squad

Ireland coach Andy Farrell was appointed as the Lions' head coach for the tour in January 2024. He takes over from Warren Gatland, who had led the team on the last three tours. Farrell was one of Gatland's assistant coaches on the 2013 and 2017 tours to Australia and New Zealand, respectively. [13]

Broadcasting rights

TerritoryRights holderRef.
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia [14]
[15] [16]

Notes

  1. All Australia matches are televised free-to-air on Nine.

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References

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  4. "British and Irish Lions: Dublin to host match with Argentina ahead of 2025 tour to Australia". BBC Sport. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
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  7. Kowalski, Kuba (31 March 2023). "Australia: The country's largest stadium will get even bigger?". StadiumDB.com . Crucial to the stadium's shape today was a 1988 study that showed the terrible condition of the southern part of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. So, by 1992, a new semicircular stand, the largest of its kind, was built, named the "Great Southern Stand." It was to cost $100 million, but absorbed half as much funding. Thanks to further changes in the early 21st century, the magic capacity – 100,000 – was crossed. Will more renovations take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and when?
  8. "Marvel Stadium". austadiums.com.
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  10. "Adelaide Oval". afl.com.au. Australian Football League (AFL).
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  14. Robinson, Georgina (23 March 2023). "Nine extends rugby deal as RA plots next chapter". The Sydney Morning Herald . Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
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