British and Irish Lions fixtures & results for tour of Australia

Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones with Tom Richards Trophy following the Lions' series win in 2013Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The British and Irish Lions and Australia will play for the Tom Richards Trophy, which the tourists regained on their last tour in 2013

  • Published

The British and Irish Lions are in Australia to play the Wallabies in a three-Test series.

Andy Farrell's side play six tour matches as well as the Test matches on 19 July, 26 July and 2 August.

The Lions are seeking to win their first series since the 2013 tour.

They drew the 2017 series with New Zealand but were beaten 2-1 in South Africa in 2021.

British and Irish Lions fixtures

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)

All matches in Australia kick off at 11:00 BSTJune

Results and try-scorers

5 July - NSW Waratahs 10-21 Lions Sydney (Allianz Stadium)

  • Try-scorers: Jones 2, Mitchell

  • Cons: F Smith 3

  • Man of the match: Alex Mitchell

2 July - Queensland Reds 12 Lions 52 Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)

  • Try-scorers: Freeman 2, Porter, Van der Merwe, Itoje, J Morgan, H Jones, Ringrose

  • Cons: Russell 4, F Smith 2

  • Man of the match: Jac Morgan

28 June - Western Force 7-54 Lions Perth (Optus Stadium)

  • Try-scorers: Sheehan, Williams 2, Daly 2, Ringrose, McCarthy, Mitchell

  • Cons: Russell 5, M Smith 2

  • Man of the match: Joe McCarthy

20 June - Lions 24-28 Argentina, Dublin (Aviva Stadium)

  • Try-scorers: Aki, Penalty try, Beirne

  • Cons: F Smith 2 Pens: F Smith

How to follow the British and Irish Lions tour on the BBC

As well as all the latest news and views, the BBC Sport website and app will bring you live text coverage, match reports and features from the tour.

Rugby union correspondent Chris Jones will lead the BBC team in Australia, providing news updates, interviews and analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live as well as daily editions of the Rugby Union Weekly podcast on BBC Sounds.

You can also follow the latest news by signing up to our British and Irish Lions news feed on the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be further coverage from the teams in BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland.

Who is in the Lions squad?

Northampton flanker Henry Pollock's meteoric rise this season earned him a place in the 38-man squad announced live at London's O2 in May.

Pollock, 20, only made his England debut in March, scoring two tries against Wales in Cardiff, and has continued to make his mark with a series of blockbusting displays.

England and Saracens captain Maro Itoje, a Test regular in the 2017 and 2021 series, leads the squad for the first time.

Ireland are best represented with 16 players, 12 of whom play for Leinster.

England supply 13 following a strong showing in the Six Nations.

Zander Fagerson's withdrawal because of injury reduced Scotland's contingent to seven but they are back up to eight after Toulon scrum-half Ben White was called up to replace Tomos Williams.

Williams' tour-ending injury means Jac Morgan is now the only Welsh player in the squad.

Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn, who joined the squad in Australia after winning the Top 14 title with Toulouse, was the only France-based player to feature in the original 38 before White received his call-up.

Meanwhile, former England captain Owen Farrell, a Lions tourist in 2013, 2017 and 2021 and son of Andy Farrell, replaced Elliot Daly in the squad on 3 July.

Who are the Lions coaches?

Farrell's coaching team draws most heavily on the Ireland set-up he has left on secondment to lead the Lions.

Simon Easterby, who served as Ireland's interim head coach for this year's Six Nations, is joined by attack specialist Andrew Goodman and scrum coach John Fogarty, while Lions great Johnny Sexton, who started all three Tests of the 2013 series win over Australia, is an assistant coach.

Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel and England senior coach Richard Wigglesworth are also included.

It is the first time since 2001, when New Zealander Graham Henry took a break from his job with Wales to lead the Lions in Australia, that there is no Welshman among the Lions coaches.

The Lions' history in Australia

The Lions' first tour was to Australia in 1888 but the touring party pre-dated the Wallabies so they played club and regional sides.

They returned the following year before visiting again in 1904, 1908, 1930, 1950, 1959 and 1966, when they also toured New Zealand.

It was not until 1989 when they next travelled to Australia, beating the Wallabies 2-1.

On their next tour in 2001, England speedster Jason Robinson scored a stunning early try in the third minute as the Lions won the first Test 29-13 at the Gabba.

They led at half-time in the second, only for Australia to recover and force a decider.

The hosts would claim a famous 29-23 win to take the series 2-1 and lift the Tom Richards Trophy in Sydney.

The Lions would avenge that defeat on their most recent visit, winning 2-1 in 2013.

Welshman George North scored one of the greatest tries in Lions history to hand the visitors a narrow 23-21 victory in the opening Test before Australia won by a point to level the series in the second.

North came to the fore again in the decider with an iconic hit on Israel Folau, lifting and carrying the Australia winger several metres back. The Lions cruised to a 41-16 win in Sydney and reclaimed the Tom Richards Trophy.