The British and Irish Lions Rugby team is made up of players from the four home unions namely Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. The British and Irish Lions team is selected every 4 years when they go on tour visiting either New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. If a player remains injury free and their career is long enough they may be able to play in all 3 tours over the 12 year cycle.
Huge Demand Due To Scarcity
The B&L rugby tours are hugely successfully financially so much so Rugby Australia was able to pay off their debt and generate a profit from the 2025 Lions tour down under. The Australian Rugby Board posted profits of £37.42m after they had paid off their debts. No other rugby tour would have generated so much income and this is what a Lions tour can do. The supporters that travel with the team are in their thousands so it is a boost to any country's economy. Bars being drunk dry is a common news story when supporters are on tour.
The Home Rugby Unions have been struggling for cash so much so the Six Nations sold off 14.3% stake to investment partners CVC Capital Partners. This in reality means roughly 2.4% less revenue for each rugby team involved and impacts not only that particular Rugby Union, but also every club they help financially support. 2.4% does not sound like much but they are sharing the pie between 7 and not 6 now so they lost roughly 16-17% share of the total profits.
The Home Unions are and have been financially strapped since the covid times and have not fully recovered. The England and Wales Premiership rugby teams are in desperate need of financial support with Scotland and Wales making things work for now due to the URC tournament.
The thinking is they are missing out on much needed revenue and need to act much smarter. In 2025 before the British and Irish Lions toured Australia they played Argentina to a sold out stadium in Dublin. This was the first time this has ever been done and the team is so popular this could be replicated virtually anywhere in the World.
The discussion now is why not have one or two warm up matches against the likes if France in Paris or Twickenham before they head off on tour. These matches would be sold out guaranteeing the Home Unions an extra £50-£60 million before the tour has even started which would basically double their tour revenue. The French rugby fans would welcome the team because it is such a rare occasion and what makes it special. I have never forgotten watching the B&L live at Newlands against South Africa back in 1980. This was my first live rugby test match and never at the time knew how special this was as the team has only toured SA 3 times since then. As a rugby brand there is no bigger in World Rugby.
Having the extra £15 million each for basically doing nothing extra is a no brainer plus it allows the team to prepare for the upcoming tour. There was discussions of changing the time line to every two years, but that would cheapen the entire concept and the four years is what makes this such a special vent for the players and fans. Don't mess with tradition because the popularity of the tour is because of the tradition and any changes would ruin the legacy of the tour.
The television broadcasters and sponsors would only be too happy knowing they would have an extra two matches and paying extra would not be a problem. The home fans never get to see the B&L team play unless they travel so this would be a real treat for them along with the players playing on home soil.
This should have been implemented years ago because the Rugby Unions are definitely missing out on much needed revenue. Later this year New Zealand are touring South Africa due to them being in so much debt and besides a great sporting event they should return home with their coffers full with no debt. New Zealand also sold off 7.5% stake in commercial rights back in 2022 and they should have just toured to clear their debts. In the future we will see more touring teams as Rugby Unions look to ensure profitability.