The first-ever\u00a0Howden\u00a0British\u00a0&\u00a0Irish Lions\u00a0Women\u2019s\u00a0Series\u00a0to New Zealand has taken a major step forward, with\u00a0fixture\u00a0dates,\u00a0oppositions,\u00a0cities\u00a0and\u00a0host venues now revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fans from New Zealand, the UK, and across the world will have the chance to experience\u00a0dynamic rugby and\u00a0everything Aotearoa has to offer, with the\u00a02027\u00a0tour starting in Whang\u0101rei on 4 September,\u00a0and ending with a\u00a0final\u00a0Test\u00a0against the Black Ferns\u00a0in the new One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on 25 September.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five cities have been chosen to\u00a0showcase\u00a0this historic rugby event, and alongside Whang\u0101rei and Christchurch,\u00a0games will also be played in Auckland,\u00a0Hamilton\u00a0and Wellington.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the five venues,\u00a0Semenoff\u00a0Stadium in Whang\u0101rei, Go Media\u00a0Stadium\u00a0in Auckland,\u00a0FMG Stadium\u00a0Waikato\u00a0in Hamilton,\u00a0Sky Stadium in Wellington and One NZ Stadium in Christchurch, over 124,000\u00a0fans\u00a0will have the\u00a0opportunity to see a Test or a tour game in person.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Acting CEO of New Zealand Rugby (NZR)\u00a0Steve Lancaster says the tour has been designed by NZR and British\u00a0&\u00a0Irish Lions in collaboration, making sure fans and players are\u00a0seeing as\u00a0much of the nation as possible, bringing rugby to\u00a0multiple\u00a0cities and venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLions tours are something\u00a0truly\u00a0special, and we want this experience for players and fans alike. Starting in the North and finishing in the South was a deliberate decision to make sure as many parts of the country can get involved in this incredible event as possible, while also making sure visiting fans have the chance to see\u00a0many of\u00a0the places that make New Zealand unique.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in iconic New Zealand venues and seeing international rugby of this calibre is going to make this an unmissable experience, and I\u2019d encourage fans to start making plans to be part of this inaugural tour.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben\u00a0Calveley, CEO, The British & Irish Lions, commented,\u00a0\u201cThis is a hugely significant milestone for the British & Irish Lions. This announcement makes our first ever Tour\u00a0feel\u00a0closer for everyone, from fans planning their trip to players dreaming of pulling on the Lions jersey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand will offer a fantastic\u00a0stage\u00a0and we are excited to take the Howden\u00a0British & Irish Lions Women\u2019s Series\u00a0from North to South and create something truly special for the women\u2019s game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Opposition for the\u00a0non-Test\u00a0matches throughout the month\u00a0will\u00a0start with the Black Ferns XV, before\u00a0an\u00a0Invitational\u00a0XV\u00a0team\u00a0will face the Lions in Hamilton.\u00a0Kick-off times for all\u00a0matches\u00a0will\u00a0be announced later this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Acting NZR CEO Steve Lancaster says: \u201cWe know how strong the Women\u2019s Lions team will be\u00a0and we want every match on tour to be\u00a0a contest,\u00a0so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0important we have\u00a0the right\u00a0teams\u00a0competing\u00a0against them in the tour matches in\u00a0Whang\u0101rei and\u00a0Hamilton.\u00a0The\u00a0Black Ferns XV\u00a0are no strangers to playing in Whang\u0101rei\u00a0and will start the tour off\u00a0well,\u00a0and\u00a0NZR\u00a0is\u00a0already looking at\u00a0options for the\u00a0invitational team, which is exciting.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
Howden British & Irish Lions Women’s Series matches\u00a0in 2027:\u00a0
Saturday\u00a04 September, Whang\u0101rei,\u00a0Semenoff\u00a0Stadium,\u00a0v\u00a0Black Ferns XV\u00a0\u00a0
Saturday\u00a011 September, Auckland, Go Media Stadium,\u00a0v Black Ferns\u00a0
Tuesday\u00a014 September, Hamilton, FMG Stadium\u00a0Waikato,\u00a0v\u00a0Invitational\u00a0XV\u00a0
Saturday\u00a018 September, Wellington, SKY Stadium,\u00a0v Black Ferns\u00a0
Saturday\u00a025 September, Christchurch, One NZ Stadium,\u00a0v Black Ferns\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The British\u00a0&\u00a0Irish Lions\u00a0Women\u2019s Tour to New Zealand is being supported by a $3.9 million Government investment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fans can register their interest in tickets, travel\u00a0packages\u00a0and other Tour updates\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Travel packages go on sale in May to\u00a0Priority Access Pass holders and June to\u00a0general public, followed by\u00a0general admission tickets on sale late 2026. Fans can sign up for Lions Rugby Travel priority access ticket-inclusive packages\u00a0 here<\/a>\u00a0and All Blacks Travel and Hospitality packages\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first-ever\u00a0Howden\u00a0British\u00a0&\u00a0Irish Lions\u00a0Women\u2019s\u00a0Series\u00a0to New Zealand has taken a major step forward, with\u00a0fixture\u00a0dates,\u00a0oppositions,\u00a0cities\u00a0and\u00a0host venues now revealed.\u00a0 Fans from New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-427205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}