The British & Irish Lions will head to Brisbane to play the Queensland Reds as the 2025 tour to Australia continues
The British & Irish Lions face the Queensland Reds on Wednesday 2 July after beating Western Force 54-7 in their first game on Australian soil.
Try braces from Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly as well as scores for Joe McCarthy, Dan Sheehan, Garry Ringrose and Alex Mitchell topped off a building performance for the Lions
As for Andy Farrell, he will be pleased with how the performances are progressing but slightly concerned over the difficulties at restarts and the hamstring injury sustained by Williams.
The Lions will next travel to the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to play the Reds.
After a dismal Rugby World Cup in 2023 and a fourth-place finish in last year’s Rugby Championship, Joe Schmidt’s side showed signs of recovery in November’s Autumn Nations Series. They’ll feel they have something to prove on this British & Irish Lions tour, especially as they prepare for a home World Cup in 2027.
The Lions, meanwhile, are looking for their first tour victory since Warren Gatland led the victorious 2013 trip to Australia – just the Lions’ second Test series win of the professional era.
However the next couple of months play out, this tour is sure to be one of the sporting highlights of the year. Here’s everything you need to know about the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2025, including the players and coaching staff who’ll be desperate to write their names in rugby’s history books.
Read more: How to watch the British & Irish Lions in 2025
Lions Tour Australia: Overview
| Dates | 20 June – 2 August 2025 |
| Destination | Australia |
| Number of matches | 10 (including one match in Dublin) |
| Head coach | Andy Farrell |
| TV coverage | Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland; Nine and Stan Sport in Australia; CBS and Paramount+ in the US |
Lions Tour Australia: Squad
British & Irish Lions team v Western Force
With nine Leinster players in the matchday 23, Andy Farrell will be hoping for a comprehensive victory over the Force.
Dan Sheehan is skipper and joined by Pierre Schoeman and Tadhg Furlong in the front row. Henry Pollock starts at eight while Tadhg Beirne switches to six. Elliot Daly starts at full back with James Lowe and Mack Hansen on the wings. Finn Russell is handed the number 10 jersey.
The matchday 23:
Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Sione Tuipulotu, Jame Lowe, Finn Russell, Tomos Williams; Pierre Schoeman, Dan Sheehan (captain), Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Henry Pollock
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Jack Conan, Alex Mitchell, Huw Jones, Marcus Smith
British & Irish Lions team v Argentina
In a side dominated by England players, Farrell finds room for both Smiths (Marcus and Fin), and the prolific Tommy Freeman on the wing. The squad’s entire Welsh contingent, Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams (recently crowned Premiership player of the year), have made the 23, while Henry Pollock (the youngest player in the squad) is in line to make a Lions debut from the bench.
The matchday 23:
Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (captain), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen
British & Irish Lions squad 2025
Farrell’s initial selection comprised 13 players from England, 15 from Ireland, 8 from Scotland and 2 from Wales. Following Finlay Bealham’s arrival to replace injured prop Zander Fagerson, the breakdown is now 13 from England, 16 from Ireland, 7 from Scotland and 2 from Wales.
And, as our article on late British & Irish Lions call-ups explains, this change to the squad is unlikely to be the last before the players fly out to Australia. England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet is training with the Lions as cover for Jamison Gibson-Park, who has a minor glute strain. (England front-rowers Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour also provided additional cover on the Lions’ Portugal training camp.)
England’s Maro Itoje has been appointed to lead the team, joining an illustrious list of British & Irish Lions captains.
FORWARDS (21)
- Finlay Bealham (Connacht and Ireland) – in for Zander Fagerson
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster and Ireland)
- Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers and England)
- Jack Conan (Leinster and Ireland)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks and England)
- Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland)
- Tom Curry (Sale Sharks and England)
- Ben Earl (Saracens and England)
- Tadhg Furlong (Leinster and Ireland)
- Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears and England)
- Maro Itoje (Saracens and England) CAPTAIN
- Rónan Kelleher (Leinster and Ireland)
- Joe McCarthy (Leinster and Ireland)
- Jac Morgan (Ospreys and Wales)
- Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints and England)
- Andrew Porter (Leinster and Ireland)
- James Ryan (Leinster and Ireland)
- Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland)
- Dan Sheehan (Leinster and Ireland)
- Will Stuart (Bath Rugby and England)
- Josh van der Flier (Leinster and Ireland)
BACKS (17)
- Bundee Aki (Connacht and Ireland)
- Elliot Daly (Saracens and England)
- Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints and England)
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster and Ireland)
- Mack Hansen (Connacht and Ireland)
- Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland)
- Hugo Keenan (Leinster and Ireland)
- Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse and Scotland)
- James Lowe (Leinster and Ireland)
- Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints and England)
- Garry Ringrose (Leinster and Ireland)
- Finn Russell (Bath Rugby and Scotland)
- Fin Smith (Northampton Saints and England)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins and England)
- Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland)
- Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby and Wales)
Withdrawals:
- Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland) – calf injury
Lions Tour Australia: Fixtures
The British & Irish Lions fixture list comprises 10 matches in 2025, including three tests against the Wallabies. Their itinerary contains one extra game compared to the nine they played in 2021, and the same number they played in 2017.
Before flying out to Australia, the Lions played their first ever match in Ireland against Argentina, a disappointing 24-28 loss. The Lions got their first win against the Force, a comfortable 54-7 victory.
It was confirmed in March 2025 that the Lions will play the first ever First Nations & Pasifika XV at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Tuesday 22 July. Meanwhile, former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster will coach the invitational Australia and New Zealand XV facing the Lions in Adelaide on Saturday 12 July.
Friday 20 June
- RESULT – British & Irish Lions 24 – 28 Argentina
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST / 5.00am AEST (Saturday)
Saturday 28 June
- RESULTS – Western Force 7 – 54 British & Irish Lions
Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 6.00pm AWST
Wednesday 2 July
- Queensland Reds v British & Irish Lions
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Saturday 5 July
- NSW Waratahs v British & Irish Lions
Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Wednesday 9 July
- ACT Brumbies v British & Irish Lions
Gio Stadium, Canberra
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Saturday 12 July
- Invitational Australia and New Zealand XV v British & Irish Lions
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 7.30pm ACST
Saturday 19 July
- FIRST TEST
Australia v British & Irish Lions
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Tuesday 22 July
- First Nations & Pasifika XV v British & Irish Lions
Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Saturday 26 July
- SECOND TEST
Australia v British & Irish Lions
MCG, Melbourne
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
Saturday 2 August
- THIRD TEST
Australia v British & Irish Lions
Accor Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 8.00pm AEST
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Lions Tour Australia: Management
Andy Farrell flanked by his Lions Tour Australia coaching staff: Richard Wigglesworth (England), Simon Easterby (Ireland), John Dalziel (Scotland), Andrew Goodman (Ireland) and John Fogarty (Ireland) (Getty Images)
Ireland boss Andy Farrell has the honour of leading the British & Irish Lions’ tour to Australia, having been unveiled as head coach in January 2024. He’s currently on a sabbatical from Ireland – Simon Easterby served as interim head coach during the Six Nations 2025 – and will return to the day job when the Lions Test series wraps up in August.
Farrell has previous Lions experience, having toured as defence coach under Warren Gatland in Australia in 2013 and New Zealand in 2017.
Unsurprisingly, the British & Irish Lions coaching team features many familiar faces from Farrell’s Ireland staff. His defence coach Easterby (who toured as a player in 2005), scrum coach John Fogarty, backs coach Andrew Goodman, head of analysis Vinny Hammond and head of athletic performance Aled Walters will all make the trip down under. Legendary Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton has joined Farrell’s backroom staff, too, ahead of taking up a full-time role with the IRFU in August.
Farrell also knows the Lions’ general manager of performance, Dave Nucifora (currently working as a performance consultant for the Scottish Rugby Union), from his successful decade as the IRFU’s performance director.
Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel and England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth will also be part of the coaching team. Farrell has, at present, selected no coaches from the Welsh set-up.
British & Irish Lions Tour Australia shirt
The new Lions shirt features the rose, shamrock, thistle and feathers emblems woven into the fabric (Inpho/Canterbury)
The 2025 Lions kit was unveiled at a launch event in London in November 2024. The new Canterbury strip features a darker shade of red and a new headline sponsor, insurance brokers Howden. Two-time Lions captain Sam Warburton consulted on the design.
Canterbury British and Irish Lions shirt for Australia 2025 | £81.99 £70.00
The new jersey for next year’s tour has been released and it features a new deeper shade of red and some connected technology on every top that allows fans to scan and access an app.
Previous British & Irish Lions tours
Winning a Lions series is always a tall order – as the tourists found in South Africa in 2021. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
This summer’s Lions tour to Australia is the latest instalment in a story that stretches all the way back to 1888. From the victorious 1971 adventure in New Zealand that featured Gareth Edwards and Willie John McBride (and has since gone down in rugby legend) to the Warren Gatland team who took the spoils from the Aussies in 2013, the team is steeped in history. The idea that players from four nations can assemble every few years to take on the best teams in the southern hemisphere remains one of the most romantic notions in sport, even in rugby’s professional era.
The first British & Irish Lions tour took place in 1888, when a group of former England cricketers led a party of 22 players on an epic 249-day tour of Australia and New Zealand. It was a brilliant idea that quickly caught on, and groups of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh players have regularly come together to take on the southern hemisphere giants on their own turf.
The Lions haven’t won a tour since their previous trip to Australia in 2013 (their only tour victory this century), so they’ll be hoping to rediscover some of that magic down under.
Here’s an overview of past British & Irish Lions tours.
| Year | Destination | Test series | Head coach | Tour captain |
| 1888 | New Zealand and Australia |
No tests played |
Alfred Shaw, Arthur Shrewsbury |
Robert Seddon, Andrew Stoddart |
| 1891 | South Africa | Lions win | Edwin Ash | Bill Maclagan |
| 1896 | South Africa | Lions win | Roger Walker | Johnny Hammond, Thomas Crean |
| 1899 | Australia | Lions win | Matthew Mullineux | Matthew Mullineux, Frank Stout |
| 1903 | South Africa | Lions loss | Johnny Hammond | Mark Morrison |
| 1904 | Australia | Lions win | Arthur O’Brien | David Bedell-Sivright, Teddy Morgan |
| 1904 | New Zealand | Lions loss | Arthur O’Brien | David Bedell-Sivright, Teddy Morgan |
| 1908 | New Zealand | Lions loss | George Harnett | Arthur Harding |
| 1908 | Australia | No tests played |
George Harnett | Arthur Harding |
| 1910 | South Africa | Lions loss | William Cail, Walter E Rees |
Tommy Smyth, Jack Jones |
| 1910 | Argentina | Lions win | RV Stanley | John Raphael |
| 1924 | South Africa | Lions loss | Harry Packer | Ronald Cove-Smith |
| 1927 | Argentina | Lions win | James Baxter | David MacMyn |
| 1930 | New Zealand | Lions loss | James Baxter | Doug Prentice, Carl Aarvold |
| 1930 | Australia | Lions loss | James Baxter | Doug Prentice, Carl Aarvold |
| 1936 | Argentina | Lions win | Doug Prentice | Bernard Gadney |
| 1938 | South Africa | Lions loss | Major BC Hartley | Sam Walker |
| 1950 | New Zealand | Lions loss | Leslie B Oborne | Karl Mullen, Bleddyn Williams |
| 1950 | Australia | Lions win | Leslie B Oborne | Karl Mullen, Bleddyn Williams |
| 1955 | South Africa | Tie | Jack Siggins | Robin Thompson, Cliff Morgan |
| 1959 | Australia | Lions win | OB Glasgow | Ronnie Dawson |
| 1959 | New Zealand | Lions loss | OB Glasgow | Ronnie Dawson |
| 1962 | South Africa | Lions loss | Harry McKibbin | Arthur Smith, Dickie Jeeps |
| 1966 | Australia | Lions win | John Robins | David Watkins, Mike Campbell-Lamerton |
| 1966 | New Zealand | Lions loss | John Robins | David Watkins, Mike Campbell-Lamerton |
| 1968 | South Africa | Lions loss | Ronnie Dawson | Tom Kiernan |
| 1971 | New Zealand | Lions win | Carwyn James | John Dawes |
| 1974 | South Africa | Lions win | Syd Millar | Willie John McBride |
| 1977 | New Zealand | Lions loss | John Dawes | Phil Bennett |
| 1980 | South Africa | Lions loss | Noel Murphy | Bill Beaumont |
| 1983 | New Zealand | Lions loss | Jim Telfer | Ciaran Fitzgerald |
| 1989 | Australia | Lions win | Ian McGeechan | Finlay Calder |
| 1993 | New Zealand | Lions loss | Ian McGeechan | Gavin Hastings |
| 1997 | South Africa | Lions win | Ian McGeechan | Martin Johnson |
| 2001 | Australia | Lions loss | Graham Henry | Martin Johnson |
| 2005 | New Zealand | Lions loss | Clive Woodward | Brian O’Driscoll |
| 2009 | South Africa | Lions loss | Ian McGeechan | Paul O’Connell |
| 2013 | Australia | Lions win | Warren Gatland | Sam Warburton |
| 2017 | New Zealand | Tie | Warren Gatland | Sam Warburton |
| 2021 | South Africa | Lions loss | Warren Gatland | Alun Wyn Jones |
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