British and Irish Lions’ tour schedule, dates and fixtures in South Africa

All you need to know ahead of the squad announcement

British and Irish Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones (Getty Images)

Warren Gatland has named his 37-man squad for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa today, ahead of the team’s summer series against the Springboks.

The Lions will face take on five warm-up fixtures in South Africa in July before three eagerly anticipated Tests against the world champions themselves, with matches in Johannesburg either side of a fixture in Cape Town.

The Lions have not played since 2017, where they played out a thrilling series draw against the New Zealand following a 15-15 tie in the third Test in Auckland.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones was confirmed as skipper. The 35-year-old, who is the game’s most capped player with 157 test appearances, including 148 for Wales, is preparing for his fourth tour with the Lions after playing key roles in 2009, 2013 and 2017.

Jones, who has featured in each of the last nine Lions test matches, guided Wales to Six Nations title in March to emerge as the top contender to lead the touring side.

Here’s all the information you need.

What is the Lions tour schedule?

Saturday 3 July 5pm Emirates Lions vs The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

Wednesday 7 July 7pm Cell C Sharks vs The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

Saturday 10 July 5pm Vodacom Bulls vs The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

Wednesday 14 July 7pm South Africa ‘A’ vs The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

Saturday 17 July 5pm DHL Stormers vs The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

Saturday 24 July 5pm South Africa vs The British & Irish Lions (1st Test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

Saturday 31 July 5pm South Africa vs The British & Irish Lions (2nd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)

Saturday 7 Aug 5pm South Africa vs The British & Irish Lions (3rd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)

When was the squad announcement?

The squad was announced on Thursday 6 May.

Who will be captain?

Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones has been selected to captain the team.

What is the full squad?

Full Lions squad

Backs: Josh Adams (Wales), Bundee Aki (Ireland), Dan Biggar (Wales), Elliot Daly (England), Gareth Davies (Wales), Owen Farrell (England), Chris Harris (Scotland), Robbie Henshaw (Ireland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Conor Murray (Ireland) Ali Price (Scotland), Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales), Finn Russell (Scotland), Duhan Van Der Merwe (Scotland), Anthony Watson (England), Liam Williams (Wales)

Forwards: Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Jack Conan (Ireland) Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Tom Curry (England), Zander Fagerson (Scotland) Taulupe Faletau (Wales), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland) Jamie George (England), Iain Henderson (Ireland), Jonny Hill (England), Maro Itoje (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Wyn Jones (Wales), Courtney Lawes (England), Ken Owens (Wales), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Sam Simmonds (England), Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Mako Vunipola (England) Hamish Watson (Scotland)