Featured image credit:
The host venues for the British & Irish Lions rugby union tour of Australia in 2025 have been confirmed, with the three Test matches set to take place at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and Accor Stadium in Sydney.
The opening Test will take place at Suncorp Stadium on July 19 – in exactly two years’ time – before the second Test takes place at the MCG the following Saturday, July 26. The third Test will be staged at Accor Stadium, in the heart of the Sydney Olympic Park, on August 2.
However, with six other games confirmed on the tour, the Adelaide Oval is also set to host an intriguing final warm-up match on July 12 when a combined Australian and New Zealand team takes on the Lions in what has been dubbed by many already as an ‘unofficial fourth Test’.
It will be the first time since 1989 that a trans-Tasman team will play in such a fixture.
Other contests on the tour will include the Lions facing Western Force at Optus Stadium in Perth on June 28, New South Wales Waratahs at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on July 5 and ACT Brumbies at Canberra’s GIO Stadium on July 9, before Melbourne Rebels welcome the tourists to Marvel Stadium on July 22.
Suncorp Stadium – the only venue to stage two matches during the tour – will also host the Lions versus Queensland Reds on July 2.
Rugby Australia has launched a new range of ‘Wallabies First’ membership products, including a membership guaranteeing access to purchase tour games, as well as advanced opportunities to purchase Test tickets.
“The British & Irish Lions Tour is one of the great sporting festivals – it is a real landmark of Australian and world sport,” Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said.
“Rugby Australia is looking forward to welcoming back the Lions for the first time in 12 years – as well as the tens of thousands of Lions fans from the northern hemisphere.
“It is an exciting fixture of matches all around the country with the Lions taking on our Super Rugby franchises, three massive Test matches, and a marquee match in Adelaide featuring a combined invitational Australia-New Zealand side.”
Lions CEO Ben Calveley added: “As we begin the countdown to Australia in 2025, the British & Irish Lions brand and organisation has never been stronger with a global fan base of some 14 million people, a significant following and strong level of engagement through our various digital platforms, and a wide range of commercial partners comprised of some of the biggest brands and organisations in the world.”
Image: Stadiums Queensland
Share this