British And Irish Lions Coaches Confirmed As Preparation Ramps Up For Australia Tour

Head coach Andy Farrell has named his British and Irish Lions coaches for the summer tour to Australia.

Richard Wigglesworth and Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel are both part of a group otherwise dominated by Ireland coaches.

Irish head coach Farrell has leant heavily on the Ireland set-up, having left his role there temporarily this year to oversee the Lions.

ing him is Simon Easterby, who filled Farrell’s position as interim Ireland head coach during the Six Nations.

Attack coach Andrew Goodman and scrum coach John Fogarty also come from the Ireland coaching team.

Performance manager David Nucifora spent ten years with Ireland before starting a similar role with Scotland in 2024, and is also linking up with the Lions this summer.

Ireland strength and conditioning and analysis staff Aled Walters and Vinny Hammond had already been confirmed as part of the tour.

Introducing our coaches for our Tour of Australia 🦁#WeGoBeyond #Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/yenNxmPalX

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) March 26, 2025

British And Irish Lions Schedule For Australia Tour

On 20 June, the Lions will play a rare home fixture when they face Argentina in Dublin ahead of their trip down under.

The first tour match on Australian soil will be against Western Force on 28 June.

Following several warm-up games against provincial opponents, they will then play the Wallabies in the first test in Brisbane on 19 July.

There will be one further midweek game between the first and second tests, before the final two test matches in Melbourne and Sydney.

Lions Schedule In Full:

• 20 Jun – The Lions Vs Argentina (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
  28 Jun – Western Force Vs The Lions (Optus Stadium, Perth)
  02 Jul – Queensland Reds Vs The Lions (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
  05 Jul – NSW Waratahs Vs The Lions (Allianz Stadium, Sydney)
  09 Jul – ACT Brumbies Vs The Lions (GIO Stadium, Canberra)
  12 Jul – Invitational AU & NZ Vs The Lions (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
  19 Jul – Wallabies Vs The Lions (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
  22 Jul – First Nations & Pasifika XV Vs The Lions (Marvel Stadium, Melbourne)
  26 Jul –  Wallabies Vs The Lions (MCG, Melbourne)
  02 Aug – Wallabies Vs The Lions (Accor Stadium, Sydney)

When Is The British And Irish Lions Squad Announced?

With the British and Irish Lions coaches, Andy Farrell and his team will meet up to begin preparations in earnest for the summer tour.

Plenty of rugby will be played between now and then, though. The European domestic season is back underway, with players desperate to impress and avoid injury.

The full touring squad will be announced on Thursday, 8 May.