![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/british-and-irish-lions.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe British and Irish Lions are considering taking a radical decision for the first time in 37 years, expanding beyond their typical touring destinations.<\/p>\n
Under the banner of their “Beyond29 project”, the 138-year-old institution is examining whether to expand beyond its traditional southern hemisphere locations.<\/p>\n
A request for proposal was distributed to consultancy firms last month, seeking expertise to “ideate, validate and confirm the preferred operating model and approach for the period beyond 2029”.<\/p>\n
New Zealand remains confirmed as hosts for the 2029 men’s tour, but what follows could represent the most significant shift in Lions history.<\/p>\n
The British and Irish Lions are considering new touring destinations<\/p>\n
| GETTY<\/p>\n
France, the Americas and Japan are among the areas under consideration as potential future hosts, according to The Telegraph.<\/p>\n
These markets would sit alongside the existing Sanzaar nations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.<\/p>\n
The Lions acknowledge in their documentation that the current format “might be coming close to maximising the return”.<\/p>\n
They are seeking to “expand their value and awareness further into new audiences, potentially in new territories”.<\/p>\n
![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777031293_451_british-and-irish-lions.jpg\")
France, the Americas and Japan are among the areas under consideration<\/p>\n
| PA<\/p>\n
Any geographical expansion would need to balance increased commercial returns and fan engagement “whilst not damaging the core DNA” of the touring tradition.<\/p>\n
Since 1989, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have taken turns hosting Lions tours on a four-yearly cycle, with Australia becoming a standalone destination for the first time that year.<\/p>\n
Prior to this arrangement, only Argentina had served as a sole tour host, welcoming the Lions in 1910, 1927 and 1936, <\/p>\n
Individual matches against France and Fiji have also occurred over the years.<\/p>\n
![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777031294_871_british-and-irish-lions.jpg\")
Since 1989, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have taken turns hosting Lions tours on a four-yearly cycle<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
PA<\/p>\n
The review is examining whether to maintain the current 12-year rotation or extend it to 16 years, or potentially abandon rotation altogether.<\/p>\n
The Lions are also considering whether future host nations should be required to bid for the privilege.<\/p>\n
The consultancy selection process is expected to conclude this month. <\/p>\n
Successful firms will need to sign non-disclosure agreements before receiving further detailed information.<\/p>\n
![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777031294_377_british-and-irish-lions.jpg\")
The Lions are also considering whether future host nations should be required to bid for the privilege<\/p>\n
| <\/p>\n
PA<\/p>\n
The overarching objective, as stated in the Lions’ documentation, is to “evolve the current operating model to significantly increase revenue, margin and profit from each tour, to future-proof the business within the wider rugby union ecosystem”.<\/p>\n
The review will also examine how pre-tour fixtures, tour matches and Test encounters would be restructured to enhance commercial value, supporter engagement and the experience for players themselves.<\/p>\n
The Lions note that “some fundamental assumptions within the Lions Tour Framework” may need to shift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The British and Irish Lions are considering taking a radical decision for the first time in 37 years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,43,3654,82,40822,850,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-415130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-rugby","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-sgg","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}