The British & Irish Lions will lock horns with Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on their 2025 tour and seek to set a record crowd of 100,000 at the iconic venue.
The Lions have announced their schedule for the tour in two years’ time, which includes Tests in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, five matches against Australia’s five Super Rugby sides as well as a fixture against an invitational Australia and New Zealand combined side.
The Lions are also lining up a warm-up match before arriving in Australia – in 2021, prior to the tour of South Africa, they hosted Japan at Murrayfield – meaning the 2025 trip is set to be restored to 10 fixtures in total, as was the case in 2017.
The tour of South Africa comprised just eight matches – plus the Japan fixture – but following a historic agreement between the Lions and the Premiership clubs, the tourists will have considerable more preparation time for a bigger schedule. After the Premiership agreed to move its final forward, the Lions will have a full two weeks together and England-based players will be available from the onset.
The United Rugby Championship has traditionally been more accommodating but four years ago, with no agreement reached with the Premiership, the warm-up match against Japan took place on the same day as the Premiership final, much to the league’s frustration. Furthermore, Warren Gatland – head coach on the last three tours – has spoken of how the Premiership’s intransigence has counted against English players for selection in the past.
The British & Irish Lions chief executive, Ben Calveley, said: “I would like to thank Premiership Rugby and the United Rugby Championship, whose co-operation has resulted in the longest preparation period for a tour in recent history, which gives us the best possible chance of a series victory.”
The first match in Australia will take place against the Western Force in Perth on June 28th with a further four quick-fire matches before the first Test in Brisbane on July 19th. The Lions will then face the Melbourne Rebels three days later and four days before the second Test at the MCG before concluding the series at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
The match against the Rebels allows for a bumper tour but, interestingly, there was no midweek fixture in South Africa once the 2021 series had started with Gatland insisting it caused too many problems and meant for a bloated squad. The Rebels fixture therefore raises the prospect of a situation similar to 2017 when a handful of players dubbed the Geography Six were drafted into New Zealand at short notice so that frontline players could be rested.
After playing out the 2021 tour in empty stadiums, however, the onus is on bumper ticket sales for the 2025 trip. The MCG has a capacity of 100,024 and combined with Sydney (82,000) and Brisbane (52,500), the forthcoming tour is on course to eclipse the 192,972 combined attendance who saw the Lions’ three Tests against the Wallabies in 2013.
Meanwhile, Marcus Smith has delivered England head coach Steve Borthwick a major boost by signing a new Harlequins contract amid considerable interest from France.
Smith was out of contract in 2024 and was attracting interest from Racing 92, who are looking for a marquee fly-half signing after losing Finn Russell to Bath. Smith was thought to be exploring his options having lost his place in the England starting XV during the Six Nations but Borthwick is expected to include him in his World Cup squad.
The England head coach will also look for Smith to be a key part of his post-World Cup plans and with the Rugby Football Union digging its heels in over its ruling that players based abroad are not eligible for selection, the 24-year-old’s new deal will be welcomed by Borthwick.
“I love the club,” said Smith. “It’s been my home since the age of 14 and I want to repay the faith shown in me and help Quins win trophies.” – Guardian
