Ultimate Guide to Lions tour of Australia: 'Southern hemisphere' Lions comment triggers coach

British and Irish Lions assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth has bit back at a throwaway reference to the squad's large contingent of southern hemisphere players.

The Lions, who arrived in Perth on Sunday, have eight players from Down Under.

Three are from Australia (Sione Tuipulotu, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham), three are from New Zealand (James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki) and two are from South Africa (Pierre Schoeman and Duhan Van der Merwe).

Watch all the action from the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match live and on demand

Ireland winger Lowe played against the Lions for the Maori All Blacks in 2017.

Wide World of Sports asked Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt about the Tuipulotu and Aki midfield pairing that impressed in Saturday's (AEST) 28-24 loss to Argentina.

"Yeah, the southern hemisphere centre partnership will be pretty formidable, I think," he said.

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It wasn't the first time ex-Ireland coach Schmidt - a New Zealander - had made reference to Lions players' backgrounds and the comments quickly made their way north.

Wigglesworth suggested Schmidt may deliberately be trying to distract the tourists.

Former Lions Willie John McBride and Danny Care have previously criticised the size of the foreign legion.

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"I don't know if they (Australia) are questioning their commitment because you would argue… their journey and how committed they have been to their country, whether that be Scotland or Ireland, England or Wales, everyone has earned the right to pull on the Lions jersey," Wigglesworth said.

"They are, to a man, incredibly proud to be here. It is not your background or how you have got here.

"It is what sort of player are you and what sort of man you are and we have got great men and great players."

How often do the British and Irish Lions tour Australia?

Every 12 years.

The Lions won the Test series 2-1 against the Wallabies the last time they toured Australia, in 2013.

They have since drawn a series against New Zealand in 2017 and lost in South Africa in 2021.

When is the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia taking place?

The tour kicked off with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 21 (AEST) - won 28-24 by the Pumas - and ends with the series closing third Test on August 2.

The Lions will play three Tests against the Wallabies, along with six more games in Australia.

Those are against the Western Force, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, an Invitational Australia and New Zealand XV, and a First Nations and Pasifika XV.

The full fixture list

Western Force v British & Irish Lions at 5:45pm AWST on Saturday June 28 at Optus Stadium, Perth

Queensland Reds v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Wednesday July 2 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

New South Wales Waratahs v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Saturday July 5 at Allianz Stadium, Sydney

ACT Brumbies v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Wednesday July 9 at GIO Stadium, Canberra

AUNZ Invitational XV v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Saturday July 12 at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

Wallabies v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Saturday July 19 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

First Nations & Pasifika XV v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Tuesday July 22 at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne

Wallabies v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Saturday July 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne

Wallabies v British & Irish Lions at 7:45pm AEST on Saturday August 2 at Accor Stadium, Sydney

How to buy tickets

Tickets to all matches are available to buy from Ticketek.

Who is the captain of the Lions for the Australian tour?

Maro Itoje will captain a squad for the tour of Australia that contains 16 Irish players, just two Welshmen and an Englishman with barely 30 minutes of international rugby to his name.

A 38-man touring party was announced in front of an audience of more than 2000 rugby fans at The O2 arena in London, with the 30-year-old Itoje becoming the first English player to captain the Lions - one of the biggest honours in the sport - since Martin Johnson in 2001.

Itoje will be heading on his third tour, after 2017 and 2021, and completes his rise as a leader, having become the captain of England and Saracens only this season.

When his name was read out by Lions coach Andy Farrell, Itoje walked out in full Lions uniform - holding the lion mascot, Bill - to warm applause.

"It's a tremendous honour and a tremendous privilege," said Itoje, who has 93 caps for England.

"It's a bit of a surreal experience, to be honest."

The British and Irish Lions squad

Forwards: Maro Itoje (England, captain), Finlay Bealham (Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Ollie Chessum (England), Jack Conan (Ireland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Scott Cummings (Scotland), Tom Curry (England), Ben Earl (England), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Ronan Kelleher (Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Henry Pollock (England), Andrew Porter (Ireland), James Ryan (Ireland), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Will Stuart (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland)

Backs: Bundee Aki (Ireland), Elliot Daly (England), Tommy Freeman (England), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), James Lowe (Ireland), Alex Mitchell (England), Gary Ringrose (Ireland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Fin Smith (England), Marcus Smith (England), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Tomos Williams (Wales)

When is the Wallabies squad expected to be named?

The Wallabies squad to play the Lions will be announced on July 11.

But coach Joe Schmidt has named a squad of 36 players to prepare for the warmup Test against Fiji in Newcastle on July 6.

That will be the only Wallabies match before the opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19.

WALLABIES SQUAD

Forwards: Allan Alaalatoa, Angus Bell, Nick Champion De Crespigny, Nick Frost, Langi Gleeson, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Zane Nonggorr, Billy Pollard, David Porecki, Tom Robertson, Will Skelton, James Slipper, Darcy Swain, Carlo Tizzano, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Harry Wilson

Backs: Filipo Daugunu, Ben Donaldson, Jake Gordon, Len Ikitau, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway, Noah Lolesio, Tom Lynagh, Tate McDermott, Hunter Paisami, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Potter, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Corey Toole, Nic White, Tom Wright

Who are the Lions?

The first Lions tour in 1888 comprised mostly English players and included matches in Australia and New Zealand.

The tradition grew and since 1989, a Lions squad featuring Irish, England, Scottish and Welsh players has toured every four years on a rotational basis to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Andy Farrell is head coach of a 38-man squad for the 2025 tour.

Recent history

Australian rugby has declined since its historic 2001 series victory over the Lions.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup champions recovered to clinch that series with back-to-back wins in Melbourne and Sydney after a first Test loss in Brisbane, when the Wallabies were stunned by a crowd overwhelmingly dominated by visiting fans.

In 2013, the Lions - coming off a midweek loss to the Brumbies in a tour game - edged Australia 23-21 in the first Test in Brisbane and then, after losing 16-15 in Melbourne, rallied for a comprehensive 41-6 victory in Sydney.