Five-match schedule revealed for inaugural women’s British & Irish Lions tour

Five games have been confirmed for the inaugural women’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, scheduled for September 2027.

The three-game Test series will be played in New Zealand’s major centres of Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, while two additional fixtures see the Lions take to Whangarei to face the Black Ferns XV and Hamilton for a clash with an invitational XV.

The Auckland Test will be played at Mt Smart Stadium instead of Eden Park, while Wellington will host a match at Sky Stadium, and Christchurch will host a game at the city’s soon-to-be-completed roofed One New Zealand Stadium.

The tour sees visitors travel from north to south over four weeks of action, with the invitational contest serving as the tour’s lone midweek game.

While an announcement on who will coach the Lions on the tour has yet to be made, December saw New Zealand Rugby appoint Whitney Hansen as the new Black Ferns head coach. Hansen succeeds Allan Bunting, who led the team to a third-place finish at the 2025 Rugby World Cup and opted not to seek a contract renewal for the coming World Cup cycle.

Whitney Hansen will become the second of her name to lead a New Zealand national team against the Lions, following her father, Sir Steve Hansen, who coached the All Blacks against the Lions in 2017. New Zealand Rugby signed the former Matatu and Black Ferns XV coach to a two-year deal, meaning her position is likely to be reviewed following the tour.

“This is a hugely significant milestone for the British & Irish Lions,” Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said in a statement.