With under two years to go, we look at some of the questions the British & Irish Lions will need to answer for their 2025 tour of Australia; watch every match of the tour, including the three-Test series against the Wallabies, live on Sky Sports
Thursday 2 November 2023 17:12, UK
The British & Irish Lions return to Australia in 2025, and every match of the tour will once again be live on Sky Sports.
Players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will come together to take on the might of the Wallabies and aim to follow up the 2013 Test series victory down under.
We are still just under two years away from the Lions making that trip, but that has not stopped us gazing into our crystal ball to try to picture the squad that will be heading to Australia…
The overwhelming favourite to lead the 2025 Lions tour is Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, having overseen their rise to No 1 in the world rankings going into the recent Rugby World Cup since taking over from Joe Schmidt in 2019.
Along with a Six Nations Grand Slam triumph earlier this year, Farrell guided Ireland to a first series victory away to New Zealand in their history last summer as they defeated the All Blacks 2-1. He has served as Lions defence coach on two previous tours as well.
One person who has publicly backed the former Great Britain rugby league captain to coach union's Lions team is Warren Gatland, who was in charge for the last tour of Australia 10 years ago, along with the drawn series in New Zealand in 2017 and the defeat to South Africa in 2021.
"You cannot deny what Ireland have achieved as a nation over the last few years and you are starting to see the fruition of the alignment between the Irish provinces and the union," Gatland, who ruled himself out of being in charge for a fourth tour, wrote in a recent Daily Telegraph column.
"There is no doubt that Andy has done a fantastic job. Even though Ireland lost their [World Cup] quarter-final to New Zealand, it was an epic match, and it could have gone either way…Everyone always just looks at results rather than what teams have achieved and the progress they have made.
"Andy has got really good man-management skills, has huge experience in the game as a professional from a young age in rugby league and I have a huge amount of respect for him as a person and as a coach."
With 2021 skipper Alun Wyn Jones having announced his retirement from Test rugby ahead of this year's World Cup, the Lions will be looking for a new captain to lead them in Australia in two years' time.
The joint favourites with the bookies at present are England second-row Maro Itoje, who was widely touted as a potential captain for the tour of South Africa, and his skipper Owen Farrell - although the latter may draw accusations of nepotism if his dad happens to be head coach.
That aside, the duo are experienced Lions tourists, with Farrell having been on three tours previously and Itoje two, so it would be no surprise to see either among the candidates to lead the team if selected.
Should Farrell be named head coach, though, it would not be a surprise to see an Irishman entrusted with that responsibility.
James Ryan has long been tipped as the man to replace the now-retired Johnny Sexton as Ireland skipper and if he does then that would seemingly put him in position as a potential Lions captain too. Conor Murray, meanwhile, stepped up in 2021 when Jones was injured, although he would be 36 by the time the 2025 tour comes around.
At the other end of the scale is Wales' Jac Morgan, who at 23 has already assumed the captaincy of his national team and shown himself to be a strong presence in the back-row, while Scotland skipper Jamie Ritchie could be in contention too. However, the fact it would be the pair's first Lions tour if selected may count against them.
Jones is not the only member of the 2021 Lions squad who will no longer be available, with Courtney Lawes, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric and Stuart Hogg having all either retired from international rugby or hung up their boots altogether as well.
How many players from each of the home nations make the squad is always a bone of contention too, although Gatland's initial 37-player squad from 2021 saw a fairly even split with 11 from England, 10 from Wales, and eight each from Ireland and Scotland.
Given their form over the past few years, at this point it would be no surprise to see a much stronger Irish contingent involved, with recent emerging talents like Mack Hansen and Caelan Doris likely to be among those pushing for inclusion.
How Marcus Smith progresses with England will have a bearing on whether he will be part of the Lions squad again, having been called up as injury cover for Scotland's Finn Russell - a player who would be expected to be on the plane to Australia - with just two Test caps to his name in 2021.
There are always one or two players who seemingly come from nowhere to make the squad as well, while the danger of injuries and suspension can disrupt coaches plans and end the ambitions of those eager to join the exclusive club of Lions tourists.
Watch every game of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, including all three Test matches against the Wallabies, exclusively live on Sky Sports. Also stream with NOW.
