Perth will host the opening game of the Lions tour of Australia. Photo: stock
Former All Blacks coach Ian Foster is in the coaching staff for an Anzac XV side to take on the British and Irish Lions this year.
He will join the side for their July 12 clash in Adelaide, according to Rugby Australia’s website.
The ANZAC side is expected to feature many New Zealand players.
An Anzac team played against the Lions in Australia in 1989 but featured less than a handful of All Blacks as players made themselves unavailable due to the late notice of the team’s formation given to NZ Rugby.
Rugby.com.au also said a First Nations/Pasifika XV team has been confirmed to replace the Melbourne Rebels in another game against the Lions.
The Rebels were due to play the Lions in Melbourne on July 22 but were axed from Super Rugby Pacific over financial and governance concerns.
“It’s … going to be an absolutely unforgettable Lions Tour throughout June, July and August,” A CEO Phil Waugh said.
“With just 100 days to go until the first match, it’s certainly not far away …”
TOURISM EVENT
Half a million fans expected to attend the nine matches across six cities and six weeks and the last allocation of tickets have just been released, says rugby.com.au.
The Lions tour begins in Perth against the Western Force on June 28 with the first Test in Brisbane on July 19. The MCG hosts the second test seven days later, on July 26, after the Lions play the indigenous team at Mavel stadium on Tuesday, July 22.
Sydney’s Accor Stadium will host the third test on August 2.
“It is fantastic to confirm the match schedule for the 2025 Tour with the added fixture against a First Nations & Pasifika XV at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium – a game that everyone at the Lions is hugely excited about,” says Ben Calveley, CEO of the British & Irish Lions.
“Together we are set to welcome more than half a million fans at games in 2025 for what will be an amazing spectacle in one of the greatest sporting countries in the world.”
