The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Qatar Airways Lions Men's Series,[1] was an international rugby union tour which took 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, played a three-match test series against Australia, as well as matches against Australia's four Super Rugby franchises, one against an invitational team made up of players from Australia and New Zealand, and a match against a team made up of players with First Nations and Pasifika origin. Ireland coach Andy Farrell was appointed as the Lions' head coach for the tour in January 2024.
After losing to Argentina in a pre-tour match, the Lions won all their matches in Australia, except the third test. They won the test series 2–1.[2]
Schedule
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions at Perth Stadium, 28 June 2025.First Nations & Pasifika XV vs British and Irish Lions at Marvel Stadium, 22 July 2025.Wallabies vs British and Irish Lions at the MCG, 26 July 2025.
The fixtures for the tour were announced on 19 July 2023.[3] The tour culminated with a three-match test series between the Lions and the Australia, and also featured matches against Australia's four Super Rugby franchises, the Western Force, Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs and ACT Brumbies. They were scheduled to face the Melbourne Rebels in the week between the first and second tests, but the Rebels were disbanded at the end of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season after going into administration earlier in the year.[4] A match against a team of players with indigenous Australian and Pacific Island heritage was proposed in its place in November 2024[5] and confirmed in March 2025.[6] The week before the first test, the Lions played a match in Adelaide against an invitational team of players from Australia and New Zealand.[3][7] A warm-up match against Argentina was played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 20 June 2025. It was the Lions' first ever match in Ireland.[8]
On 8 May 2025, Lions chairman and tour manager Ieuan Evans announced a 38-player squad at The O2 Arena in London. In a first for the Lions, the squad was announced in front of 2,000 fans.[17][18]
Notes: Ages listed are as of the first tour match on 20 June against Argentina. Bold denotes that the player was selected for a previous Lions squad. Italic denotes a player that withdrew from the squad following selection.
Farrell announced his five assistant coaches on 26 March 2025.[22] Three of the coaches selected worked under Farrell at Ireland – defence coach Simon Easterby, scrum coach John Fogarty and backs coach Andrew Goodman.[23] Forwards coach John Dalziel was selected from Scotland, whilst attack coach Richard Wigglesworth (who played under Farrell at Saracens) was selected from England. For all five assistant coaches, this was their first Lions tour, although Easterby had toured as a player in 2005.[24] It was also the first tour since 2001 without any representation from Wales among the coaches.[25]
On 17 April, Johnny Sexton was added to the coaching staff.[26] Sexton, who toured with the Lions as a player in 2013 and 2017, has been a coach with Ireland since 2024.
On 23 June, the Lions confirmed the backroom staff of the tour.[27]
On 11 July 2025, Australia named a 36-player squad ahead of their test series against the British & Irish Lions.[28]
On 22 July 2025, Pete Samu was called up to the squad as training cover, after being blocked from playing in the First Nations & Pasifika XV match.[29]
On 23 July 2025, Josh Flook was called up to the squad as training cover, while Filipo Daugunu recovered from injury sustained during the First Nations & Pasifika XV match.
On 27 July 2025, Aidan Ross was called up to the squad to replace Harry Potter, who was injured during the second test match.[30]
On 1 August 2025, Brandon Paenga-Amosa was called up to the squad to replace Dave Porecki, who was injured leading up to the third test match.[31]
The British and Irish Lions won their first test series since Australia 2013,[52] and won a test series with a game in hand for the first time since South Africa 1997.[53]
Owen Farrell became the first player in the professional era to win two British and Irish Lions test series.[54]
The 90,307 match attendance was a record crowd for a British and Irish Lions match, and the MCG's record largest rugby union crowd.[55]
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Andy Farrell 
British & Irish Lions (2–1)
Finn Russell (44)
Dan Sheehan (2)
Australia 
