England halfback Jack van Poortvliet has been called in by the British and Irish Lions as injury cover ahead of their tour opener against Argentina in Dublin on Saturday (AEST).
Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park missed Leinster’s win over the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship final last weekend with an injury.
Van Poortvliet has 15 caps for England.
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Jamison Gibson-Park during the British & Irish Lions rugby squad training at the UCD Bowl in Dublin. Getty
The world class Gibson-Park will almost certainly start the Tests against the Wallabies if fit.
England’s Alex Mitchell and Wales’ Tomos Williams are the other halfbacks in a Lions squad that has already lost Scotland prop Zander Fagerson to injury.
After the Argentina game, the Lions will fly Down Under for a nine-match tour of Australia containing three Tests against the Wallabies.
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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 begins with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 21 (AEST) 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.
Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell, Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman in their British and Irish Lions shirts. Getty
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.
Maro Itoje poses for a photo after being announced as captain by Andy Farrell. Getty
Who is the captain of the Lions for the Australian tour?
Maro Itoje will captain a British and Irish Lions 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.
Maro Itoje of England wins lineout ball against Brodie Retallick of the All Blacks. Getty
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 will name a squad of about 40 players on June 19 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.
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.
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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.
