The three-Test tour, which includes a further seven matches, is the 10^th time that the Lions have travelled to face the Wallabies, from an inaugural series in 1899 up to the last time the sides faced off, in 2013.

Scottish playing representation in 2025 is spearheaded by Finn Russell, the mercurial Bath Rugby stand-off having been selected to appear on a third such trip, following on from a late call-up during the 2017 tour to New Zealand, before earning a Test cap against South Africa four years ago.

Duhan van der Merwe, who started all three Test matches against the Springboks last time out and now boasts more than 30 international tries, is named as part of Farrell’s back-three stable.

Also selected for a second tour is Zander Fagerson, who featured in four matches in 2021, and a Lions Test cap in 2025 will be of great ambition to the Glasgow Warriors tighthead.

Fellow prop Pierre Schoeman, whose showings since his 2021 debut against Tonga have lodged the Edinburgh Rugby loosehead firmly amongst the country’s favourite players, joins fellow front-row Fagerson.

Scott Cummings, whose last international appearance actually came against Australia in November last year, is selected as part of the second-row stable.

The remaining 2025 tourists, representing a sparkling Scottish backline, are all first-time Lions, with Warriors centres Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones primed to take their international partnership to the ultimate level, with versatile Toulouse star Blair Kinghorn rounding off a Scottish contingent that mirrors the eight selected in 2021.

Overall, there are four Glasgow Warriors and two Edinburgh Rugby players named in Andy Farrell’s 38-player group, with Russell and Kinghorn playing their trades in England and France respectively. 

There are a total of 10 fixtures for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, beginning with friendly against Argentina in Dublin on 20 June, before nine further games Down Under. The opening Test is in Brisbane on 19 July, with two more to come in Melbourne (26 July) and Sydney (2 August).

Wallabies lie in wait 

12 years ago, the Lions emerged from Australia with a 2-1 series win – their only such success since the iconic 1997 Ian McGeechan-led South Africa series – as Richie Gray became the only Scot to win a Test cap on that tour with a 13-minute cameo in Sydney.

Things have improved immensely in recent times, with no fewer than seven Scots becoming Test Lions in 2021, including class of ‘25 tourists Finn Russell and Duhan van der Merwe.

You have to go back as far as 1989 to find a British & Irish Lions tour more laden with Scots, when nine were part of a group led by Finlay Calder who etched themselves into rugby history with another 2-1 Test match series triumph.

Indeed, aside from three trips to Argentina in 1910, 1927 and 1936, Australia is the only country that the Lions have a winning record against, having emerged victorious on seven of the previous nine sojourns down under.

What of the current iteration of Wallabies? Head coach Joe Schmidt, who took on the job in 2024 on the back of a disastrous Rugby World Cup the year before, has steadied the ship somewhat. After a meagre return of one win in last year’s Rugby Championship, Australia clicked in the end-of-year Tests, registering wins over England and Wales, as well as a three-point defeat to Ireland and a 27-13 reverse at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.

Sitting 10^th in the World Rugby rankings, the Wallabies have a task on their hands to beat a composite team made up of nations largely above them but historically, Australian sporting spirit stands the country in good stead for such skirmishes. A fascinating series awaits.

Scotland’s Mane Men – 2025 British & Irish Lions

Name: Finn Russell
Position: Stand-off
Club: Bath Rugby
Age: 32
Scotland caps: 87
Lions experience: New Zealand (2017), South Africa (2021, 1 Test cap)
Fun fact: In the third match four years ago, Finn became the first Scot to feature at stand-off in a Lions Test since Gregor Townsend in 1997, also against South Africa.

Pictured: Finn Russell, who will be part of a third British & Irish Lions tour, warming up before facing Japan at Murrayfield, 26 June 2021.

Pictured: Duhan van der Merwe in action for Lions during an International Match between the British & Irish Lions and Japan at BT Murrayfield, on June 26, 2021, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Pictured: Zander Fagerson in 2021 when news came of his selection as a British & Irish Lion.

Name: Scott Cummings
Position: Second row
Club: Glasgow Warriors
Age: 28
Scotland caps: 42
Lions experience: First-time tourist
Fun fact: Scott becomes the fifth Scottish second row (the position most represented in the professional era) to be named in an initial squad since 1997 (Weir, Murray, Hines, Gray).

Pictured: Scott Cummings missed the Guinness Six Nations but gets a Lions call-up on the back of outstanding form before that.

Name: Huw Jones
Position: Centre
Club: Glasgow Warriors
Age: 31
Scotland caps: 58
Lions experience: First-time tourist
Fun fact: ‘Shuggy’ has scored three tries for Scotland in as many appearances against Australia (2016, 2017, 2024).

Pictured: Huw Jones scoring against England at Twickenham earlier in the year, in a prolific championship for the centre.

Name: Blair Kinghorn
Position: Full-back
Club: Toulouse
Age: 28
Scotland caps: 60
Lions experience: First-time tourist
Fun fact: In playing his club rugby in France, Blair joins Finn Russell (Racing 92, 2021) and Nathan Hines (Perpignan, 2009) as the only Scots to be selected for the Lions whilst playing their club rugby outside Britain.

Pictured: Toulouse’s Top 14-chasing Blair Kinghorn scoring a try against Wales back in March in what could be a very memorable season for the Scottish full-back.

Name: Pierre Schoeman
Position: Loosehead prop
Club: Edinburgh Rugby
Age: 31
Scotland caps: 42
Lions experience: First-time tourist
Fun fact: Since the advent of professionalism, all Scottish looseheads to have been selected for the Lions have surnames beginning with ‘S’: Smith (1997, 2001), Sutherland (2021), Schoeman (2025).

Name: Sione Tuipulotu
Position: Centre
Club: Glasgow Warriors
Age: 28
Scotland caps: 30
Lions experience: First-time tourist
Fun fact: Sione’s international involvement came against Australia, the Scotland captain scoring a try against the country of his birth in a 27-13 win in November 2024.

The 2025 British & Irish Lions Squad in full:

Forwards: (21)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #848
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Backs: (17)
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)