On 4 September 2012 the Wales head coach Warren Gatland was announced as the Lions' head coach. On 30 April 2013, the Lions' initial squad of 37 players was named, to be captained by Sam Warburton.
Itinerary
The Lions will play the Barbarians in Hong Kong on 1 June to mark the 125th anniversary of the Lions tour, before playing their first match in Australia on 5 June. The test matches will be played in Brisbane (22 June), Melbourne (29 June) and Sydney (6 July).[1]
The best-of-three test series will see the Lions and Australia compete for the Tom Richards Trophy, which was first presented in 2001, the last time the Lions toured the country.[2] Australia won the 2001 test series 2-1, after the Lions won the first test. The Lions have won 15 of their 20 test matches against Australia dating back to 1899.
Lions squad
The Lions announced an initial squad of 37 on 30th April 2013,[3] made up of 15 players from Wales, 10 from England, 9 from Ireland and 3 from Scotland.[4][5]
Wales' Sam Warburton was named captain; he is the youngest man to lead the Lions, at the age of 24. Warburton was captain of Wales during their Six Nations Grand Slam in 2012, and during the 2011 World Cup, where they finished fourth. Previous Lions captains Paul O'Connell (from 2009) and Brian O'Driscoll (2005) were also picked.
Notes: Ages listed are as of the first tour match on 1 June. Bold denotes that the player has previously played for the Lions.
Although Irvine originally stated that it was unlikely that a current coach of one of the Home unions would be appointed to coach the Lions,[7] New Zealander Warren Gatland was offered the role in March 2012 with the Welsh Rugby Union's support, before being confirmed in September 2012.[8][9][10][11] Gatland promised impartial selection and conceded that Graham Henry in 2001 picked too many Welsh players who were not good enough to go on the tour. Gatland signed a 10-month contract with the Lions, taking a sabbatical from coaching Wales, although he would coach his Welsh team against Australia and New Zealand.[12]
Host nation will televise the tour on Fox Sports and in the UK and Ireland the games will be televised by Sky Sports. Talksport will be providing live UK radio commentary of all matches.[13]
Sky Sports NZL will cover the tour in New Zealand and SuperSport in South Africa. In Europe, Sky Italia will show the tour in Italy, Vatican City and San Marino while Canal+ will cover France, Andorra and Luxembourg. The tour will be covered by Setanta Sports Asia across most of Asia and the Pacific Islands and J Sports will show fixtures in Japan. Gulf DTH will cover the Arabic countries in Asia. ESPN Latin America will show the tour in South America and DirecTV in America and Setanta Sports Canada in Canada. [14]
Sponsors
HSBC is the main sponsor of the Lions, having also sponsored their 2009 tour to South Africa. Adidas manufacture and supply their playing and training kits, while Rhino supply training aids. Microsoft are the Lions' technology partners, and Thomas Pink supply the official formal and evening wear for the team.[15]Qantas are the official airline of the tour, as well as the main sponsors of the Wallabies.
British and Irish Lions Legends
On May 24 2013, it was announced that a Classic Anzac's will host a British and Irish Lions XV at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane on the 21 June, the day before the first test between Australia and the Lions. On 4 July, just two days before the final test between the sides, a Classic Wallabies side will play host to a British and Irish Lions Legends side at North Sydney Oval in Sydney, with both team featuring retired players or uncontracted players by their unions.[16]
Warren Gatland
Sam Warburton
British and Irish Lions
Steve Walsh (Australia)
Jérôme Garcès (France)
Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
England
Scotland
Ireland