Andy Farrell named as British Lions Head Coach for 2025 Australia tour
The Ireland boss will take charge from the end of this year
Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell has been confirmed as the man to lead the British & Irish Lions for the 2025 tour to Australia.
Farrell will start in his role in December 2024 and will work solely with the Lions until the conclusion of the 2025 tour to Australia.
He's set confirm his full British & Irish Lions coaching team in due course. Farrell played a key role as defence coach under Warren Gatland for the 2013 Series win in Australia and in the drawn Series in New Zealand in 2017.
Farrell, the 2023 World Rugby Coach of the Year has been part of the Irish coaching setup since 2016 having worked as defence coach under Joe Schmidt before being named as Head Coach after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. As defence coach, Farrell was a part of Ireland’s first-ever series win in Australia during the 2018 summer Tour.
During his tenure as Head Coach, he has guided Ireland to two triple crowns in 2022 and 2023, the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2023 and led the team to number one in the World Rugby rankings. Farrell also recorded a famous first-ever series win against New Zealand in the summer of 2022, four months before overseeing a win over Australia in Dublin.
Farrell succeeds previous Head Coach Warren Gatland, who coached the Lions on three consecutive Tours, guiding the Lions to a Series victory against Australia in 2013 and a drawn Series with New Zealand in 2017 before narrowly losing to South Africa during the 2021 Tour.
Andy Farrell, British & Irish Lions Head Coach said,
“It is a tremendous honour and a privilege to be named Head Coach of The British & Irish Lions," said Farrell.
"I know how special Lions Tours are having been involved in the 2013 and 2017 Tours, so I am delighted to get the chance to lead the team in 2025.
“There is a wealth of talent across Britain and Ireland, and I'm looking forward to building a team that can deliver the ultimate goal of success in Australia. I also want to thank the Irish Rugby Football Union for their support in allowing me to accept this prestigious opportunity.”