The British and Irish Lions have confirmed their schedule for their 2025 tour of Australia, including a match against a joint Australia and New Zealand Invitational XV.
The nine-match tour is crammed into five weeks, beginning at the end of June and concluding with the final test at the start of August.
The Lions will face off against four of Australia's five Super Rugby franchises, before first playing in Brisbane, then Melbourne, and finishing their three test series against Australia in Sydney.
Prior to the tests getting underway, however, they will play a combined Australia and New Zealand XV, although how strong that invitational side will be is yet to be determined.
Ben Calveley, CEO of the British and Irish Lions, said: “We are delighted to announce the tour schedule as we look ahead to what is to be one of the most eagerly anticipated series in history.”
The Lions will open the tour with matches against Western Force, Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs and ACT Brumbies before the invitational match and then the first test in Brisbane.
The Lions have never lost in the eight tests they have played in Brisbane, in a run that stretches back to the nineteenth century.
The second test will see them play the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with the potential for up to 100,124 spectators. It will be the first test ever played at the famous stadium in Victoria, and the MCG will house the largest capacity to have ever hosted a Lions test.
Their final match will be at Accor Stadium in Sydney, the stadium that opened and closed the 2000 Olympics, saw Australia seal the series in 2001, and the Lions claim their first series win against any opposition in 16 years as they famously beat the Wallabies 41-16 in the last test of the 2013 tour.
Ieuan Evans, chairman of the British and Irish Lions, said: “Lions tours to Australia have always been memorable occasions and the 2025 tour promises to be no different.”
The 2025 Lions tour schedule
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
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