British & Irish Lions

The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. Since 1989, the team has toured every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The Lions most recently toured Australia in 2025 and won the test series 2–1.

From 1888 onwards, combined British rugby sides visited countries in the Southern Hemisphere. The first tour was a commercial venture, undertaken without official backing.^[3] The next six visits enjoyed a growing degree of support from the rugby authorities, before the 1910 South Africa tour, which was the first tour representative of the four Home Unions.^[4] In 1949, the four Home Unions formally created a Tours Committee^[5] and for the first time, every player of the 1950 Lions squad had played internationally before the tour.^[6] From the 1950s, tours saw the Lions winning many of the provincial games, but the test series were generally lost or drawn. The series wins in 1971 (New Zealand) and 1974 (South Africa) interrupted this pattern. The last tour of the amateur era took place in 1993. The Lions have also played occasional matches in the Northern Hemisphere either as one-off exhibitions or before a tour.