British and Irish Lions Tour 2025 - Preview, fixtures, squad and betting guide

One of rugby union's most anticipated events on the calendar is just around the corner as the British and Irish Lions prepare for their tour of Australia this summer.

Every four years, the best players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland team up to take on one of the Southern Hemisphere's best sides in a three-Test affair, with 2025 seeing Andy Farrell's side take on two-time world champions Australia.

Before colliding with the Wallabies though, The Lions will compete in a number of warm-ups games, starting with Argentina in Dublin next Friday before they head Down Under for a series of games against Australia's best club sides.

Here is all you need to know about the British and Irish Lions Tour this summer.

In what is not always the case for a Tour, the Lions go in as heavy favourites against Australia due to a mix of historical and recent form.

Ireland (3rd), England (6th) and Scotland (7th) are all ranked higher than the Wallabies (8th) in the world rankings, while they are the only member of the traditional Tri Nations where the Lions have a positive winning record in previous tours.

The Lions have won 17 of their 23 previous Test matches against Australia, most recently securing two victories in a 2-1 series victory in 2013 under Warren Gatland.

Compare that to their record against South Africa (18 wins in 49) and New Zealand (seven wins in 41 games).

Overall, their record in Australia translates to seven series victories, losing only one multi-Test series Down Under - in 2001 when the Wallabies were world champions.

Mauro Itoje will become the Lions' first English Tour captain since Martin Johnson in 2005, leading a squad packed with talent.

Thirty-eight players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be hoping to impress head coach Farrell over the six warm-up games in order to earn a place in the starting line-up in the first Test on July 19 in Brisbane, with some fiercely-contested battles set to play out in a number of positions.

Not least at fly-half, with the talented trio of Fin Smith, Marcus Smith and Finn Russell battling it out to orchestrate the backs, with Ireland's Sam Prendergast and England's Owen Farrell missing out.

Despite that, it would be foolish to write off an Australia side who have beaten both England Wales in the last two years during a period of improvement under ex-Ireland coach Joe Schmidt since their disastrous 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.

Forwards

• Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

• Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland)

• Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)

• Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England)

• Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)

• Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England)

• Ben Earl (Saracens/England)

• Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)

• Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (C)

• Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)

• Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)

• Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)

• Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)

• Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Backs

• Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

• Elliot Daly (Saracens/England)

• Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)

• Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

• Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

• Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)

• Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)

• Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

• Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland)

• Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)

• Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

• Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)

• Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)

• The Lions vs Argentina - June 20, 8pm - Aviva Stadium, Dublin

• Western Force vs The Lions - June 28, 10:45am - Optus Stadium, Perth

• Queensland Reds vs The Lions - July 2, 10:45am - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 

• NSW Waratahs vs The Lions - July 5, 10:45am - Allianz Stadium, Sydney 

• ACT Brumbies vs The Lions - July 9, 10:45am - GIO Stadium, Canberra 

• Invitational AU-NZ vs The Lions - July 12, 10:15am - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

• Australia vs The Lions (First Test) - July 19, 10:45am - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

• First Nations & Pasifika XV vs The Lions - July 22, 10:45am - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne

• Australia vs The Lions (Second Test) - July 26, 10:45am - MCG, Melbourne 

• Australia vs The Lions (Third Test) - August 2, 10:45am - Accor Stadium, Sydney 

There are plenty of ways to get involved in the British & Irish Lions Tour at Ladbrokes:

• Series Winner – Back the Lions or the hosts to win the Test series.

• First Test Result – Bet on who takes the opener.

• Handicap Markets – Great if one side is strongly favoured.

• Try Scorers – Pick who’ll go over the line first or anytime.

• Total Points/Try Lines – Fancy a high-scoring game? Go over or under.

• In-Play Betting – Bet live on the next try, points, or result swings.

• Match Result - Bet on a number of markets for each warm-up and Test match, starting with Friday's clash with Argentina in Dublin.

Check out the latest Lions odds and markets for all the tour betting options.

View the latest rugby union odds here.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.