The schedule
The Lions have actually already played a game. They were beaten 28-24 by the Pumas in Dublin last weekend.
But the tour proper starts with a clash with the Western Force in Perth tomorrow night.
The Lions will then play the three other Australian Super Rugby teams: the Reds in Brisbane (July 2), the Waratahs in Sydney (July 5), and the Brumbies in Canberra (July 9).
The collapse of the Melbourne Rebels created a gap in the tour schedule that will be filled by a game against an "Anzac" team made up of various spare Australian and New Zealand players in Adelaide (July 12). Details of this team — to be guided by Reds and future Wallabies coach Les Kiss with help from former All Blacks coach Ian Foster — remain scarce, though the assumption is it will include players from the Japanese league, including former Highlanders flanker Shannon Frizell, fringe Wallabies and maybe some spare Super Rugby stars.
The first test is in Brisbane on July 12, followed by a game against a First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne (Docklands Stadium) on July 22.
The second test is at the MCG on July 26, and the third in Sydney on August 2.
The coach
Andy Farrell has taken leave from his day job — Irish head coach — to lead the Lions.
Under Farrell, Ireland beat the All Blacks 2-1 in the series in New Zealand in 2022, and won the Six Nations in both 2023 and 2024.
Farrell was an assistant coach to Warren Gatland on the 2013 tour to Australia, when the Lions won the series 2-1, and was also in the coaching staff in the controversial 1-1 series draw in New Zealand four years later.
As a player, he did a bit of everything.
Farrell was a hard-charging forward in rugby league, where he played 34 tests for Great Britain and was a legend of the Wigan club, and a versatile man in rugby union, where he played eight tests for England and a couple of seasons for Saracens.
His son, Owen, has played 112 tests for England and six for the Lions.
The captain
Oghenemaro Miles "Maro" Itoje.
The 30-year-old, 1.98m lock is a magnificent player who has already played a major role in two Lions tours.
Itoje has won five English titles and three European championships with his Saracens club, he has 93 caps for England, and he has been nominated for world rugby player of the year three times.
Five players to watch
1. Finn Russell
The mercurial Scottish first five can be absolutely magical on his day.
2. Tadhg Furlong
Veteran Irish prop makes his third tour with the Lions and is a locked-in starter if fit.
3. Josh van der Flier
The Irish flanker, named world player of the year in 2022, is a terror in the loose. Set to form an all-Emerald Isle combination with No 8 Jack Conan.
4. Tommy Freeman
The Lions have some decent options on the wing but it seems certain Farrell will give a starting spot to Freeman. The classy Englishman scored a try in each of his five starts in the Six Nations earlier this year.
5. Henry Pollock
The 20-year-old English flanker has been picked for the Lions despite having just 32 minutes of international rugby under his belt. Looks a rare talent, having helped his Northampton Club to the European Champions Cup final.
Kiwi connection
Three Irish players touring with the Lions could well have been All Blacks.
James Lowe (born in Nelson) played on the wing for Tasman and the Chiefs before joining the Leinster club in 2017. He now has 40 caps for Ireland.
Halfback Jamison Gibson-Park (born on Great Barrier Island) played for Taranaki, the Blues and the Hurricanes before heading to Leinster in 2016, and earning 43 caps for Ireland.
Finally, magnificent midfielder Bundee Aki (born in Auckland) was a Counties-Manukau and Chiefs man before heading to the Connacht club in 2014. The 35-year-old has 65 caps for Ireland, and played one test for the Lions in South Africa four years ago.
But wait, there’s more.
Winger Duhan van der Merwe and prop Pierre Schoeman both played for South Africa at under-20 level before signing for Edinburgh and qualifying for Scotland, and Sione Tuipulotu, Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen are all Australian-raised with UK parentage.
The other team
Ah, yes. The Wallabies will also take part in this Lions series.
They slumped to 10th in the world a couple of years ago and many obituaries for Australian rugby were being written.
Crafty Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt has turned things around quite nicely and there is now some optimism in the great southern land that good times are ahead.
Their tight five is decent but their hopes of de-clawing the Lions rest more with the exceptional loose trio of Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson and Rob Valetini, backed up by tackling and try-scoring machine Carlo Tizzano.
Fullback Tom Wright, winger Andrew Kellaway, midfielder Len Ikitau and new star Joseph-Aukoso Sua’ali’i offer plenty of punch in the backs.
Perhaps the question mark is over the crucial 9-10 combination, where Tate McDermott or Jake Gordon could be the starting halfback and one of Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh will have a point to prove at first five.
Prediction
The Lions will comfortably win all the tour games outside the tests.
Then it gets tough to call.
My gut feeling is the Wallabies nick the first test, the Lions dominate the second, and a thrilling decider ends in ... the Lions winning by 10.
