The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played ten matches: against all five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises, the NZ Provincial Barbarians, the Māori All Blacks and three test matches against New Zealand.
The test series was drawn 1–1 – one victory each and a draw in the third match. Of the other tour matches, the Lions won four, lost two and drew one.
Wales coach Warren Gatland was head coach of the Lions, having also led the Lions to victory in the 2013 series against Australia. Former Wales captain Sam Warburton was appointed as tour captain, a role he also held on the 2013 tour. The Lions squad voted Jonathan Davies their player of the series.
Schedule
The ten-match schedule was announced on 9 July 2015, and included matches against New Zealand Super Rugby teams for the first time. Previously in New Zealand, the Lions had played provincial sides or combined provincial selections. However, this was the first tour to New Zealand where the visit fell in the middle of the Super Rugby season.
Initially, the Lions proposed a match in the United States against the U.S. national team to open the tour, much like the Barbarians match in Hong Kong in 2013. However, on 6 July 2015, the idea was dropped because of the unavailability of key American players due to club commitments. The opening match of the tour was originally planned to be against a Provincial Union XV, but this was changed to the New Zealand Barbarians in March 2016, following their win over the Māori All Blacks.
Christchurch was initially planned to host a test match but, due to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake which damaged Lancaster Park beyond repair, it was deemed that the remaining stadiums in the South Island were too small to host a test match.
Squads
Lions
Tour manager John Spencer announced an initial squad of 41 on 19 April 2017, made up of 16 players from England, 12 from Wales, 11 from Ireland and 2 from Scotland.
Ben Youngs was initially selected in the squad but withdrew on 6 May for personal reasons.
Billy Vunipola withdrew from the squad on 21 May after suffering a shoulder injury while playing for his club Saracens.
On 17 June, six players – Kristian Dacey, Gareth Davies, Allan Dell, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill and Finn Russell – were added to the squad to provide cover during mid-week games ahead of the test series. Ross Moriarty was ruled out of the tour after an injury sustained against the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians.
On 29 June, Robbie Henshaw and George North were ruled out of the remaining games after sustaining injuries against the Hurricanes.
Jared Payne was ruled out of the final game due to concussion.
Notes: Ages listed are as of the first tour match on 3 June. Player positions are per the Lions' website. Bold denotes that the player was selected for a previous Lions squad. Italic denotes a player that withdrew from the squad following selection.
Management and staff
On 30 July 2014, former English international player John Spencer was named the Lions' tour manager.
On 7 September 2016, Warren Gatland was confirmed as the Lions' head coach and named his assistants on 7 December 2016 – Steve Borthwick, Andy Farrell and Rob Howley. Howley was on his fifth tour, having previously toured as a player (1997 and 2001) and coach (2009 and 2013). Borthwick was making his first tour as a Lions coach and Farrell was on his second, after being part of the coaching staff in 2013.
New Zealand
New Zealand's 33-man squad for their Pasifika Challenge match against Samoa and their three-test series against the British & Irish Lions.
Liam Coltman, Vaea Fifita, Jack Goodhue, Akira Ioane and Matt Todd were also named in the squad as injury cover.
Following concussion to Ben Smith in the first test, Damian McKenzie was added to the squad as cover for Ben Smith.
On 3 July, Malakai Fekitoa was called up as a replacement for Sonny Bill Williams who was suspended after a red card in the second test.
All squad members play rugby in New Zealand.
Coaching team: Head coach: Steve Hansen Attack coach: Ian Foster Forwards coach: Mike Cron Defence coach: Wayne Smith
Note: Ages, caps and clubs as per first test match, 24 June 2017.