They are the most famous touring side in history, but is it time to switch up where the British & Irish Lions visit? From the January edition of Rugby World
The Lions are built on a pioneering spirit – after all, they boarded a paddle steamer bound for the other side of the planet in the Victorian age. And they’ve faced an array of different opponents in their time, from Sri Lanka and Canada to Fiji, the French and beyond. But as we head towards another cycle of facing one of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa four years apart, we ask: does it always have to be this way?
So we’ve courted some different figures from all over the rugby map to tell us where they would have the Lions heading if they had their say – and who their prey would be on these trips…
Stuart Barnes on Lions tours reimagined
The former England and Lions ten turned journalist and analyst
Barnes writes of his choices: “We have a climate crisis. It’s time for the Lions to combine tour destinations and, even more radically, cut their global emissions by staying close to home. How does it work? Australia and New Zealand is a joint tour, so too South Africa and South America. The third in the tour cycle is closer to home… Indeed it’s the Six Nations tour.
“They face the four home nations (with Lions released). Italy. Two Tests in France (Marseille/Paris). And a midweek match against a French Barbarians consisting of overseas players, to be played in San Sebastian. Then 50% of all tour profits go into developmental projects. A green and selfless tour.”
1 EDINBURGH
Lions v Scotland
2 DUBLIN
Lions v Ireland
3 CARDIFF
Lions v Wales
4 LONDON
Lions v England
5 ROME
Lions v Italy
6 MARSEILLE
Lions v France
7 SAN SEBASTIAN
Lions v French Barbarians
8 PARIS
Lions v France
Benjamin Kayser on Lions tours reimagined
The former France hooker who is now a commentator and pundit
“The game needs to change and open up,” says former France hooker Kayser when asked what he would like to see Lions tours go in the future. His answer: get France, Portugal and Spain involved. He adds of the need to shake things up with a new destination or two: “We need to create what doesn’t exist and see the best against the best.
“And if fans like the Lions tours for travelling experience, we know that Rugby World Cup 2023 in France was legendary in that aspect.”
The French Baa-Baas get a couple of matches too. Bon voyage, les Lions!
1 LILLE
Lions v French Barbarians
2 BORDEAUX
Lions v Atlantique Coast
(Bayonne/Bordeaux/ La Rochelle/Vannes)
3 SAN SEBASTIAN
Lions v Portugal
4 TOULOUSE
Lions v France
5 BARCELONA
Lions v Spain
6 MARSEILLE
Lions v France
7 SAINT ÉTIENNE
Lions v French Barbarians
8 PARIS
Lions v France
Mark Evans’s tour
Respected rugby administrator and CEO of Super Rugby’s Fijian Drua
Just like Barnes, Mark Evans would like to see the Lions merge Australia and the All Blacks into one cycle, but he’d like the South Africans to keep their own Lions window. Then for the third, Evans wants to hit commercial hot spots in Spain, California and the Pacific region, as well as offering matches to some of the performance nations.
Related: New British & Irish Lions women’s team to tour New Zealand in 2027
“Because you’d be playing outside of the American Football season, there would be loads of grounds available in California to play in and you could play at the University of Hawaii’s ground,” Evans tells us of suitable stadia.
1 MADRID
Lions v Uruguay
2 MADRID
Lions v Argentina
3 SAN FRANCISCO
Lions v Maori All Blacks
4 SAN DIEGO
Lions v USA
5 LOS ANGELES
Lions v All Blacks
6 HAWAII
Lions v Samoa
7 HAWAII
Lions v Fiji
8 TOKYO
Lions v Japan
Drew Mitchell’s tour
Australia’s record try-scorer in World Cups and now a podcaster and pundit
“What needs to be held onto is the traditions and heritage that sets our game apart from others,” says former Wallaby Mitchell. “I just think you can add additional games to existing tours, like the Australian one.”
So for his dream Lions tour, Mitchell wants a mix of a Test series against the Wallabies and stop-offs in the Pacific.
On playing the Pacific nations, he says: “I appreciate the stadiums aren’t the biggest and money will always play a part. But those regions give our game so much and a visiting BIL game in each country would be massive for the representation of our game and also the local economies.”
1 TOKYO
Lions v Japan
2 APIA
Lions v Samoa
3 SUVA
Lions v Fiji
4 NUKU’ALOFA
Lions v Tonga
5 BRISBANE
Lions v Australia
6 PERTH
Lions v Australia
7 SYDNEY
Lions v Australia
8 MELBOURNE
Lions v Australia/NZ select
Jonathan Davies’s tour
The Scarlets and Wales centre has starred in Lions tours
“I’m a big American sports fan,” says Davies, who was named Player of the Lions Series in 2017. “So I was thinking about what the Lions can do in America – I considered a high-tech NFL stadium like the SoFi (LA) or a classic one – but let’s take the Lions to Vegas!”
The Scarlets stalwart sees a trip up the Americas, over the Pacific and finishing against the world champions as a true display of touring and playing the very best. As he explains: “The beauty of the Lions tours is the touring aspect, seeing as much as you can.”
There’s a lot of world out there for you to see but phew, this is a tough one!
1
BUENOS AIRES
Lions v Argentina
2 LAS VEGAS
Lions v Northern
Hemisphere Select
3 SUVA
Lions v Pacific Islands XV
4 AUCKLAND
Lions v New Zealand
5 DUNEDIN
Lions v Maori All Blacks
6 MELBOURNE
Lions v Australia
7 BRISBANE
Lions v Southern
Hemisphere Select
8 CAPE TOWN
Lions v South Africa
Marcelo Bosch’s Lions tour
The former Saracens and Argentina centre covers rugby for ESPN in his native land
Former Pumas playmaker Bosch can see the benefit of the Lions playing his home nation. But as they did in 2005 and will do in 2025, he sees it as a one-off game played in Europe. In fact, just like Barnes and Kayser, he’s kept things in Europe, staying exclusively in Spain and France.
A French tour is a popular suggestion, we’ve found. As the former Springboks skipper Bob Skinstad tells us: “I think the Lions should tour France – it’d be the biggest Test series in the history of the game.” It certainly would shake things up a bit! But can it happen?
1 BARCELONA
Lions v Argentina
2 MADRID
Lions v Pacific Islands XV
3 SAN SEBASTIAN
Lions v Portugal &
Spain Combined XV
4 TOULOUSE
Lions v French Barbarians
5 BORDEAUX
Lions v France
6 MARSEILLE
Lions v France
7 PARIS
Lions v France
Where do you think future Lions tours should go? Tell us at rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or on social media
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