Andy Farrell’s side head to Perth looking to quickly bounce back from their frustrating and surprise 28-24 loss to an understrength Argentina team in a historic farewell fixture in Dublin in which they relinquished the 1888 Cup.
This is the first game of nine across six weeks for the Lions Down Under, with six warm-up matches to play in addition to their three all-important Tests against the Wallabies.
The Lions are coming up against all of Australia’s representatives in Super Rugby Pacific, with meetings with the Queensland Reds, New South Wales Waratahs and ACT Brumbies on the schedule as well as games against an Invitational Australia and New Zealand XV and a First Nations and Pasifika XV.
But first up is the Western Force, who finished a disappointing ninth out of 11 in Super Rugby in 2025, above only the Highlanders from New Zealand and the Fijian Drua.
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions date, kick-off time and venue
The British and Irish Lions face the Western Force on Saturday June 28, 2025, with kick-off scheduled for 11am BST – which is 6pm local time.
The match will take place at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia.
How to watch Western Force vs British and Irish Lions
TV channel: Live coverage of the game is available via Sky Sports, who have exclusive broadcasting rights to the Lions tour again in the UK in 2025. The broadcast begins at 10am BST on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action.
Live stream: Those with a Sky Sports subscription can also watch the action unfold live online via the Sky Go app, while it’s also available via Now TV.
Live blog: Follow the game on Saturday with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions team news
There has been a war of words escalating this week between Lions CEO Ben Calveley and Australia head coach Joe Schmidt regarding the latter’s reluctance to release Wallabies players back to their Super Rugby franchises for these tour matches.
The likes of Nick Champion de Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain and Nic White were all made available and start this game, with Ben Donaldson also rushing back to feature after a hamstring injury suffered by former Australia stalwart Kurtley Beale, who inadvertently cost the Wallabies a First Test win over the Lions in Brisbane 12 years ago when he slipped while kicking a last-gasp penalty.
Carlo Tizzano, Harry Potter and usual Force captain Jeremy Williams all remain in Australia camp though, part of the ring-fenced group preparing for their only warm-up match against Fiji in Newcastle on July 6.
Simon Cron’s team also features other Wallabies experience in the likes of Sam Carter and Hamish Stewart, plus ex-All Blacks centre Matt Proctor. Former England hooker Nic Dolly is on the bench.
Playmaker: Finn Russell will be expected to start for the Lions against the Western Force in Perth
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As for the Lions, Farrell will be boosted by having most of the 14 players who were not considered for selection against Argentina fully integrated into the squad after they joined up late following their appearances in the respective Premiership and URC finals.
Finn Russell, Will Stuart and Ollie Chessum are all set to come into a much-changed squad along with the Leinster contingent of Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Joe McCarthy, James Lowe and Garry Ringrose, with Tadhg Furlong and Ronan Kelleher both having come off the bench against the Pumas at the Aviva Stadium.
Farrell has been assessing both Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan as they deal with knocks, though Huw Jones has shaken off an Achilles injury.
Blair Kinghorn, though, will not be available until likely the third game of the tour against the Waratahs in Sydney on July 5 after Toulouse’s progress back to the Top 14 final.
Farrell is due to name his team from 9am BST on Thursday morning.
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions lineups
Western Force XV: Donaldson; Grealy, Proctor, Stewart, Pietsch; Harford, White; T Robertson, Paenga-Amosa, Hoskins; Carter, Swain; Harris, Champion de Crespigny, Ekuasi
Replacements: Dolly, Pearce, Tauakipulu, Faifua, Prinsep, H Robertson, Burey, Kuenzle
British and Irish Lions XV: TBC
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions head to head (h2h) history and results
The Western Force have met the Lions once before, in the opening match of the 2013 tour when they shipped nine tries in a comprehensive 69-17 loss.
The Lions also put 116 points on a Western Australia side on the 2001 tour at the WACA in Perth.
British and Irish Lions wins: 1
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions prediction
Perhaps we should not have been surprised to see the Lions edged out by Argentina, whose status as 7-1 underdogs for victory in Dublin seemed ridiculous despite missing a number of France-based stars, particularly when you consider that they beat all of New Zealand, South Africa, France and Australia in 2024 and are currently ranked fifth in the world – three spots ahead of the Wallabies.
Some will question if the Lions have already faced their toughest challenge of the whole summer, though Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Co will have something to say about that.
While it was understandably disjointed at times from a side playing together for the first time after only a couple of weeks of training, there were positives to take from the game, though Farrell’s strong reaction to the defeat – where he questioned his team’s hunger and lamented their error count – will have left his players with no confusion over the significant lift in standards that he expects.
Emphatic win: Brian O’Driscoll was among the scorers when the Lions thrashed the Western Force in 2013
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Not since 1971 had the Lions lost the opening game of a tour, and that famous side went on to make history as the only one (still) to have won a Test series against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
While the scoreline should be much closer than the last time the Lions visited the Western Force, a comfortable defeat surely still beckons for the lowest of Super Rugby’s Australian quartet.
Lions to win, by 20 points.
Western Force vs British and Irish Lions match odds
Western Force to win: 18/1
British and Irish Lions to win: 1/40
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
