British & Irish Lions squad and captain to be named live at the O2 in May

British & Irish Lions squad and captain to be named live at the O2 in May

The British & Irish Lions squad and captain for the tour to Australia will be named live in front of more than 2,000 fans at London’s iconic O2 on Thursday, May 8.

Lions chair Ieuan Evans will unveil head coach Andy Farrell’s tourists and captain for the series to Australia.

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 Lions tour, with all three Tests and six warm-up matches to be shown live, beginning against Western Force in Perth on June 28.

Captain Sam Warburton leads the celebrations as the Lions celebrate their series win over Australia
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Captain Sam Warburton leads the celebrations as the Lions beat Australia last time out

More than 2,000 Lions supporters will be in attendance for the landmark occasion at the venue.

Lions chair Evans said: “There is no greater honour than being selected for The British & Irish Lions and as a player, you find it tough to sleep the night before as the anticipation builds.

“Hours feel like days as you wait to hear if you are lucky enough to get that dream call-up for the ultimate experience on and off the pitch.

“I was fortunate to go on three Lions Tours and I found out via a letter, a telegram and Ceefax – that was our version of the red button for younger supporters. And this squad announcement, in front of our loyal fans, will be so memorable in its own way too.

“There is a lot of rugby to be played between now and May and Andy and his coaching team will have some extremely tough decisions to make ahead of the Tour to Australia.

“The players will be doing all they can to book their places and we wish them all the very best over the coming weeks.”

What are the Lions fixtures?

Following their clash in Perth, the Lions will face Queensland Reds in Brisbane on July 2, the Waratahs in Sydney on July 5, the Brumbies in Canberra on July 9, an Invitational Australia & New Zealand side in Adelaide on July 12 and the Rebels in Melbourne on July 22.

That game will take place after the opening Test in Brisbane on July 19, with the second Test at the MCG in Melbourne on July 26 and the final Test in the Accor Stadium in Sydney on August 2.

British and Irish Lions 2025 tour schedule

Date Opponent Venue
Saturday, June 28 Western Force Perth
Wednesday, July 2 Queensland Reds Brisbane
Saturday, July 5 NSW Warratahs Sydney
Wednesday, July 9 ACT Brumbies Canberra
Saturday, July 12 Invitational AU-NZ Adelaide
Saturday, July 19 AUSTRALIA (first Test) Brisbane
Wednesday, July 22 TBC Melbourne
Saturday, July 26 AUSTRALIA (second Test) Melbourne
Saturday, August 2 AUSTRALIA (third Test) Sydney

Who is the Lions head coach?

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Andy Farrell says he is very honoured to have been confirmed as the British and Irish Lions head coach for their 2025 tour to Australia

Andy Farrell will lead the Lions out as head coach as he succeeds Warren Gatland in the role having previously worked as defence coach during the winning 2013 and 2017 tours of Australia and New Zealand.

The former Wigan Warriors rugby league great has been head coach of Ireland for four years, his time in charge seeing the team achieve a Six Nations Triple Crown (2022), an historic 2-1 series victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand (2022), a Six Nations Grand Slam (2023) and victories over every Tier One side as part of a 17-Test winning run.

Watch every game of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, including all three Test matches against the Wallabies, exclusively live on Sky Sports. Also stream with NOW.

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