The 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia is now in the books which means only one thing, it is time to dish out the Planet Rugby awards.
We have 10 gongs up for grabs and kick off with our player of the series from both teams, before other Lions, Wallabies and one Argentine also pick up a prize.
Lions player of the series – Tom Curry
Going against the official pick on Saturday after events in Sydney, we voted Curry as our Lions player of the series after a stunning three-Test performance that saw him grab two tries. He certainly savoured those scores as he silenced his pre-series doubters and went from strength to strength thereafter, vindicating Andy Farrell’s decision to pick him at seven. Our award could have gone to Tadhg Beirne but we just felt that his back-row colleague was the better of the two against the Wallabies.
Wallabies player of the series – Will Skelton
What more can be said about the man? The 33-year-old proved his worth to the Wallabies as we knew he would as he dominated the physical exchanges in Tests II and III, returning to Test rugby with a bang. With big carries, fierce ruck presence and massive collisions, both Skelton and lock partner Nick Frost were excellent in gold.
Lions player of the tour – Ellis Genge
Genge was a leading light in the pre-tour fixture against Argentina and very much carried on from there Down Under, skittling defenders out of his way whilst being a destructive force at scrum time. That and his incredible consistency on tour saw him beat Finn Russell to this gong, with the fly-half coming of age on tour with wonderful touches both out of hand and with the boot. Genge though was a rock throughout and arguably should have earned more than just one start in the Test series.
Top tour try scorer – Duhan van der Merwe
Incredibly he didn’t play a minute of the Test series but still came out on top of the try chart with five crossings to his name. Four of Van der Merwe’s five scores were simple run-ins – three of which came against the AUNZ Invitational XV – with his first on tour seeing him dot down expertly close to the sideline under pressure. Fellow countryman Huw Jones was next on the chart with four to his name while Irish duo Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose finished on three crossings on Aussie soil.
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Game of the tour – Wallabies second Test
In all honesty, and unfortunately a disappointing reflection on the tour in general, there weren’t a lot of matches jumping out in this category as the Lions breezed past the majority of their opponents. However, outside of the series the clash with the First Nations and Pasifika XV was a wonderful occasion that could’ve easily gone the other way in terms of result. Ultimately we had to go for that second Test against Australia in front of over 90,000+ fans at the incredible MCG. With the series on the line, the Lions left it to the last seconds to claim a famous victory as Hugo Keenan’s finish completed a stunning comeback that sealed the Test series in dramatic fashion.
Try of the tour – Santiago Cordero (Argentina)
We head all the way back to before the Lions boarded the plane to Australia here and rightly so as Cordero finished off a wonderful break-out score from Los Pumas that ultimately handed them a famous victory in Dublin. It started in their own 22 as Tomas Albornoz dummied a kick before fending Henry Pollock and then perfect passing to support runners led to Matias Moroni putting boot to ball for the chasing Cordero. He won the race and Argentina would go on to take the spoils at the Aviva. It wasn’t just the pure brilliance of the try that clinched the award for us but the magnitude of it too.
The PACE from Cordero ⚡️
Argentina hit back ‼️ pic.twitter.com/XMyEOFLZZ0
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 20, 2025
Unsung Lion – Ollie Chessum
Two names sprung to mind here and both were workhorses. Scott Cummings just got better and better as the tour progressed and can count himself incredibly unlucky to miss out on Test minutes. However, the impact Chessum had on games was tough to ignore as he played a key role under the surface in the Lions winning the series.
Unsung Wallaby – Nick Frost
Was very much in the running for Wallabies player of the series but doesn’t leave the Planet Rugby awards empty handed. Called “the future” by David Campese, Frost was such a nuisance to the Lions at the lineout and impressed in every other facet of play in Test performances that earned him a great deal of credit. Max Jorgensen was next in line as the 20-year-old wing looks right at home on the international stage with two tries picked up in this series as he took every chance that came his way.
Top tackler – Maro Itoje
A real captain’s knock as Itoje racked up the tackles for the cause, finishing on a whopping 88. His work-rate was as we’ve come to expect as the skipper emptied the tank without the ball as well as with it. The Lions second-row edged out number eight Jack Conan (85) and blindside flanker Tadhg Beirne (83) who were equally dogged.
The Jason Leonard award – Garry Ringrose
We’ve all heard the story from Sir Ian McGeechan on the 2009 tour referencing Leonard being the Ultimate Lion in 1997 due to his admirable behaviour despite not being picked for the first Test. Ringrose has certainly shown a similar unselfish nature in 2025 by pulling himself out of the reckoning for selection in the second Test in Australia due to having concussion symptoms. Many might have looked to hide this and play the Test but Ringrose put the team first but more importantly his own health.