The Lions have begun their lengthy 2025 tour, bouncing back from a 28-24 loss to Argentina in their farewell game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin by thumping Super Rugby’s Western Force 54-7 on Saturday in their first match on Australian soil. Despite the result in Perth, both performances showed that they have an awful lot of work to do.
They have plenty of time and more matches to get themselves up to the required standard though, with the whole tour officially running from that first game Down Under on Saturday until the start of August. They will play a total of nine games in Australia, with five fixtures before the real action begins, followed by the first test, then a clash with a representative First Nations and Pasifika XV, before the final two tests against Australia.
Only after those second and third tests will we really be able to judge the success of the tour. The dates of the three crucial clashes can be seen below:
- First test, 19th of July, Brisbane
- Second test, 26th of July, Melbourne
- Third test, 2nd of August, Sydney
Note that all games kick-off at 11 am UK time.
What is the Lions’ Overall Record?
The Lions tours date back to 1888, when a combined British side first formally toured the southern hemisphere. Back then, a 21-man squad, largely composed of English players but with some Scots and Welsh too, toured Australia and New Zealand. That was a mammoth 35-game tour, although the Lions only played against club teams and there were no international tests against either the Kiwis or the Wallabies.
Much has changed since then and over the years, including the name officially used for the team and where players were drawn from. Overall, the Lions have played 144 tests, though many of these were against no-longer extant “nations”, or ones that have changed their names. They also include a number of one-off games that served as warm-up clashes or prep games.
Overall, the Lions have won 70 of their 144 test matches, losing 63 times and drawing a surprisingly high total of 11. Their overall win rate is, therefore, 48.61% ahead of the first test of 2025 against the Aussies. They have played Argentina eight times, winning six, drawing one and losing one – that most recent clash in Dublin.
However, our focus here is on the main tours that the British & Irish Lions undertake. Argentina is the nation they have played the fourth most, but how have they fared against their main opponents, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia?
Record v Australia
The Lions have roared against the Wallabies 23 times and currently have a very strong record. They have won 17 of those games, losing six times, boasting a positive points difference of 166 in winning almost 74% of the time.
When we look at the more important stat of how they have done in terms of series success, the numbers are very similar. Prior to 2025, they have toured Australia nine times, winning seven and losing just twice, a success rate of nearly 78%.
Less Success Against Springboks
The numbers are markedly worse against South Africa, the nation against whom they have played the most tests. They have faced SA 50 times and won just 18 of those games. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Lions-Boks clashes is that around one in eight (six games in total) have ended in draws. South Africa have beaten the Lions 26 times, leaving the tourists with a win rate of less than 37%.
In terms of tours, the picture is even less pretty. Fourteen visits to the tip of the African continent have yielded just four successes. There was one drawn series and nine wins for the hosts, the Lions limping to series victory just 28.57% of the time.
And Let’s not Mention the Kiwis
The stats against NZ make the South African numbers look very reasonable, the Lions managing a meagre 17% win rate against the mighty All Blacks. They have won seven of 41 tests, with 30 home wins and four draws. Those numbers equate to just one series win in 12 visits to New Zealand, with 10 home wins and one drawn series.
Will the Lions Improve their Numbers in Australia?
As we have seen, the touring party have a very strong record against Australia, and a rather poor one against their other two main opponents. Is this latest trip a chance to improve their overall record and further bolster their stats against the Wallabies, or will the home side score a rare win?
Despite slumping to a first defeat ever against the Pumas, there should be only one winner in the battle between the Lions and the Wallabies. Australia’s rugby union side have been poor for some time now. They are currently way down the world rankings, in eighth place, below Ireland (third), England (sixth) and Scotland (seventh).
According to World Rugby’s system of ranking points, they are only a shade better than Fiji and not all that much superior to Italy. Based on these rankings, the historical stats and the bookies’ odds, one has to believe that the hosts need a minor miracle to get anything out of the three tests, let alone to pull off a series win.
That the Aussies are coached by a Kiwi, Joe Schmidt, shows just what a desperate state rugby union is in there. A proud nation having to defer to the expertise of their local rivals – that would have been deemed unacceptable not that long ago, although the former Ireland boss is actually the third Kiwi to take the role.
The Lions are ranked as clear favourites to win the series, with bookmakers offering odds of just 1/3 for them to get the job done. Schmidt’s beleaguered troops are out at 5/2, with the draw 28/1. The odds for the first test are pretty much identical to those prices and whilst this is far from the strongest Lions party, they should have more than enough to beat a side that lost to Ireland and Scotland in their last two games.