In June 2025, the British & Irish Lions 2025 tour of Australia preparation will begin in earnest in readiness for their tour from the 28th June to the 2nd August 2025.
In this post, we will explore a little about the British & Irish Lions, how the team is comprised and selected, who they go on tour to play, how often these tours take place and we'll also take a closer look at the matches coming up for the 2025 Tour and its preparation.
But first, it is important to understand the identity of the Lions and the legacy that the British & Irish Lions 2025 will continue on their tour Down Under. So let's first dig a little deeper into the history behind the British & Irish Lions.
The British & Irish Lions are a squad of rugby players selected from the best players in Britain and Ireland. Usually, they are full international players who represent either England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland in rugby union matches, however coaches are free to select any player from the four countries for a Lions squad.
The British Lions can be thought of in a similar way to an NBA All-Star team in that it is only the best players from any of the four nations that will be included in a British Lions squad.
The Lions team began in 1888, when the Shaw & Shrewsbury touring squad played Otago in New Zealand, winning 8-3. Since then, representative teams from the British Isles and Ireland have toured in the southern hemisphere before the 1910 South African tour, which was the first ‘official' tour to represent the four ‘home nations' – Wales, Scotland, England and Ireland.
Back then the team was called ‘British Isles' but that changed on the 1950 tour of New Zealand and Australia when they adopted a new name, the British Lions. That remained the case despite Ireland gaining independence from Britain in 1922 with the set up of the Irish Free State.
It was not until 2001 and the tour of Australia that the team was officially renamed the British & Irish Lions.
The Lions squad and coaching staff is selected by a committee comprising of members from all four of the Rugby Union nations whose players form the team.
The Lions' badge and kit colours are also a representation of the four nations. The badge features all four emblems of Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England and the shirt is red (Wales), shorts white (England) and socks blue and green (Scotland and Ireland).
Being selected for a Lions squad is amongst the highest accolades a Rugby professional can achieve in the game, as competition for the squad is fierce between the best players from the four different countries.
Let's now take a look at the players that will play on the British & Irish Lions 2025 Tour to Australia, along with the coaching team that will lead this talented squad.
Props
Hookers
Locks
Back Row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
Centres
Back three
The British & Irish Lions 2025 Tour of Australia begins on the 28th June, but the team will be in action before that in a Lions 1888 Cup match against Argentina in a warm-up fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The full set of fixtures for the Lions in 2025 is as follows (test series matches shown in bold).
Since their first test match in April 1888, the Lions have played over 140 test matches against 15 different teams. However, they are most known for their tours of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
This data includes all tour test matches, as well as test matches against other opponents the Lions have faced, such as in warm-up games, or when they have played a game on the way back from a tour.
However, there is a marked difference when it comes to how the British and Irish Lions have performed in Test Series matches alone.
On the positive side, the Lions have toured Argentina three times and won all three test series. Furthermore, the British & Irish Lions 2025 squad will be defending an excellent test record in Australia, where, in nine test series, the Lions have won seven and lost just two.
However, the Lions' record against the other two big Tri-Nations teams is less impressive. In 14 test series in South Africa, the Lions have won just four, losing nine, with one series drawn. Their record against New Zealand is even poorer. In 12 test series against the All Blacks, the Lions have won just one, losing ten and drawing one.
The team tours once every four years, and since the start of the professional era in Rugby Union in the mid-1990s, the team has toured three nations in rotation.
After the British & Irish Lions 2025 tour to Australia, the Lions will next tour in 2029 when they will visit New Zealand. This will then be followed in 2033 by a tour of South Africa, before returning to Australia once again in 2037.
bet365 Sport is offering an option to bet on the outright test series winner of the British & Irish Lions 2025 tour of Australia.
As you can see, The Lions are strongly favoured by the bookmakers here at odds of 1.33 to win the three-match test series against the Australians, who are 3.50 to earn a win over the tourists.
Tune in to bet365 Sport nearer to the start of the Lions series of warm-up matches and tour games to enjoy a wealth of additional betting options, including betting on every game, at bet365!
Check out our look at exciting Six Nations Bets for Rugby fans for a look at some of the popular bets you may find on the British & Irish Lions 2025 tour games!
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