The 2025 British and Irish Lions tour is here, with fans set to spend every Saturday morning glued to the TV
The 2025 British and Irish Lions tour has seemed like a sporting treat still far in the distance for months, but the time has now come to finally enjoy it.
This Friday, Andy Farrell’s men will play their first match against Argentina in Dublin, before flying out to Australia to take on the best Australian rugby has to offer. You can see the team for the first match, which was named on Wednesday, here. Following that game, the Lions head to Australia on Sunday, with the first tour match held on Saturday, June 28.
With the 2025 Lions Tour arriving, here’s everything you need to know about the trip to Australia.
When are the Lions tour matches on TV?
While in Australia, the Lions will play nine matches, including a three-match Test series against the Wallabies near the end of the tour. All matches kick off at 11:00 BST apart from the game in Dublin which starts at 20:00 BST
The games can be watched live and exclusive on Sky Sports. S4C will also broadcast extensive same-day highlights of each game every matchday evening. The Lions v Argentina match is live on S4C.
Friday, 20 June – Lions v Argentina, Dublin (Aviva Stadium)
Saturday, 28 June – Lions v Western Force, Perth (Optus Stadium
Wednesday, 2 July – Lions v Queensland Reds, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
Saturday, 5 July – Lions v NSW Waratahs, Sydney (Allianz Stadium)
Wednesday, 9 July – Lions v ACT Brumbies, Canberra (GIO Stadium)
Saturday, 12 July – Lions v Invitational AU & NZ, Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)
Saturday, 19 July – Lions v Australia, first Test, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
Tuesday, 22 July – Lions v First Nations & Pasifika XV, Melbourne (Marvel Stadium)
Saturday, 26 July – Lions v Australia, second Test, Melbourne (Melbourne Cricket Ground/MCG)
Saturday, 2 August – Lions v Australia, third Test, Sydney (Accor Stadium)
Sky Sports have exclusive coverage off the tour, which will include punditry from Warrant Gatland and Dan Biggar with Joe Marler rumoured to join them.
What happens if it’s a draw?
One change that is looking to be implemented to this edition of the Lions Tour is the proposal of golden-point extra-time. After the 2017 series ended in a draw, Rugby Australia chief Phil Waugh has suggested to The British and Irish Lions board to include the rule to avoid an “anti-climax” as Sam Warburton previously described it as in 2017.
The decision is still under consideration by The British and Irish Lions board.
Waugh has also confirmed the use of the 20-minute red card during the series after its success in this year’s Six Nations. The rule means that the offending team can replace the red-carded player 20 minutes after being reduced to 14 players.
The 38-man squad travelling to Australia was announced by head coach Andy Farrell in early May. The only two Welsh representatives are Jac Morgan (Ospreys) and Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby).
The full Lions squad
Forwards: (21)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Ireland)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Backs: (17)
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
