Lions to play in Ireland for first time in 2025

5 months ago 118

The Aviva Stadium in Dublin will host the meeting of the Lions and Argentina in June 2025

The British and Irish Lions will play in Ireland for the first time in 2025 when they face Argentina in Dublin ahead of their tour to Australia.

The match will be played at the Aviva Stadium on 20 June 2025 and will be broadcast on terrestial television.

The Lions played Japan in Edinburgh before their 2021 tour to South Africa, winning 28-10 on that occasion.

The last meeting between the Lions and Argentina in Cardiff in 2005 ended in a 25-25 draw.

A statement released by the Lions said: "The fixture gives fans the opportunity to see the Lions in action and send off the squad on a high before they embark on their journey to Australia."

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The Lions will begin their 2025 tour in Perth against the Western Force on 28 June 2025, before facing fellow Australian Super Rugby Pacific sides, the Queensland Reds, the NSW Waratahs, and the ACT Brumbies.

They will continue their preparation for the first Test by facing an invitational Australian and New Zealand side in an encounter at the Adelaide Oval on 12 July.

Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium will host the first Test against Australia on Saturday 19 July.

Following this, a midweek fixture against Melbourne Rebels will take place at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday 22 July.

The second Test will be played on Saturday 26 July at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which has a capacity of 100,000. The final Test will be played in front of over 80,000 fans at Sydney's Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday 2 August.

Ben Calveley, CEO of The British & Irish Lions, commented, "Excitement is building as we continue the countdown to the 2025 Tour to Australia and we are delighted to confirm details of this fixture which is a key part of the overall Tour.

"The opportunity to play in Dublin at Aviva Stadium in front of over 50,000 Lions fans will make for a great occasion and the perfect send-off."

"British & Irish Lions Tours have a rich heritage built over 130 years of touring but alongside our strong history which we are very proud of, it is important that we look for ways in which to evolve our Tours. This pre-Tour fixture is one such example of this and builds on the success of the pre-Tour fixture against Japan at Murrayfield in 2021 which was a resounding success."