Andy Farrell has named a strong British & Irish Lions XV to face Argentina in Dublin
The 2025 British & Irish Lions series gets under way tonight with Andy Farrell’s side taking on Argentina in Dublin.
The iconic touring team will play Australia in this year’s edition, and it will mark the return of full stadiums for the first time since 2017, when they toured New Zealand.
This evening’s match against Los Pumas marks the first-ever Lions fixture to take place at the Aviva Stadium and will kickstart six weeks of rugby action Down Under.
The two teams will contest for the 1888 Cup and follows the tradition of playing the first warm-up fixture on home soil. In 2021, of course, the Lions played against Japan at Murrayfield, which is where Alun Wyn Jones famously dislocated his shoulder ahead of captaining the tour, before making a miraculous return just 18 days later.
Lions CEO Ben Calveley touched on the importance of the opening fixture in Ireland.
“The opportunity to play in Dublin at Aviva Stadium in front of more than 50,000 Lions fans will make for a great occasion and the perfect send‑off,” he began.
“British & Irish Lions tours have a rich heritage built over 130 years of touring but alongside our strong history which we are very proud of, it is important that we look for ways in which to evolve our tours.
“This pre‑tour fixture is one such example of this and builds on the success of the pre‑tour fixture against Japan at Murrayfield in 2021 which was a resounding success.
“British & Irish Lions fans are a core part of what makes a great Lions tour. This fixture in Aviva Stadium gives fans who may not be travelling to Australia the opportunity to see the Lions in action which is really important to us.” Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the clash.
Viewing details
Lions v Argentina is being shown for free live on S4C (Wales) and TG4 (Ireland).
It marks an historic co-production partnership between the two national broadcasters, who offer fans free-to-air coverage of the opening match.
Sky Sports have the right to the full Lions tour, and will also be showing the match on Sky Sports Main Event.
Sarra Elgan will be joined by former Welsh internationals Ken Owens, Jamie Roberts and Mike Phillips for analysis on S4C.
If you would like to live stream the game on desktop, mobile or tablet, then head over to the S4C Clic app, or BBC iPlayer (look for S4C channel) to watch.
What time is kick-off?
The British and Irish Lions v Argentina kicks off at 8pm on Friday, June 20, at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Team news
Lions XV: 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, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen.
Argentina XV: Carreras; Isgro, Cinti, Piccardo, Mendy; Albornoz, Garcia; Vivas, Montoya (c), Sclavi, Molina, Rubiolo, Matera, Gonzalez, Oviedo
Replacements: Bernasconi, Wenger, Coria Marchetti, Grondona. S, Moro, Benitez Cruz, Moroni, Cordero
