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Our Lions Women's rugby partnership

We are the proud Founding Partner of the first ever British & Irish Lions Women's Team.​

Together we're making Herstory​

After 137 years of the Lions Men’s Team, history is being made with the first Lions Women’s Team taking to the pitch in New Zealand in 2027. The team will play five matches in total, including a three-Test series against the Black Ferns:

  • Saturday 4 September​
    Black Ferns XV v Lions (Whangārei, Semenoff Stadium)​
  • Saturday 11 September​
    1st Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Auckland, Go Media Mt Smart Stadium)​
  • Tuesday 14 September​
    Invitational XV v Lions (Hamilton, FMG Stadium Waikato)​
  • Saturday 18 September​
    2nd Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Wellington, Sky Stadium)​
  • Saturday 25 September​
    3rd Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Christchurch, One NZ Stadium)

Four unions. One jersey. Herstory in the making.

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£3 million Levelling the Playing Field Grant​

As part of our British & Irish Lions Women’s Team partnership, we’re investing £3 million in elite player development pathways across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The purpose of this grant is to help develop more elite players and coaches across the four Home Unions to create a more balanced Lions Women's Team when they head to New Zealand in 2027.​

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Royal London Lions Women Engagement Day

We’re investing in an annual gathering of current and future star players and coaches from across the four Home Unions, known as Engagement Day. Ahead of the formation of the first ever Lions Women's Team in 2027, these events are opportunities for prospective Lions players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to help build, shape and define the Lions Women’s programme.​

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Championing Women and Girls’ Rugby Award​

We're also investing in grassroots rugby for women and girls across the UK and Ireland in the run up to the inaugural Lions Women's Tour in 2027. For each year of our sponsorship, one grassroots rugby club from each of the four Home Unions will be awarded a £10,000 grant. The grant will be awarded in recognition of their achievements in grassroots rugby for women and girls, and to help fund future development initiatives in local communities across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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Our Lions Women's story

In 2021, we funded a Feasibility Study to investigate if a British & Irish Lions Women’s team could be formed. Excitingly, the study concluded with positive findings which led to the creation of the historic inaugural Lions Women’s Team​.

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Our ambassadors

Shaunagh Brown

Shaunagh Brown has been a Royal London ambassador since 2021, when she was a member of the Lions Women’s Feasibility Study steering group. A former gas engineer, firefighter and commercial diver, Shaunagh represented England as a hammer thrower at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow before taking up rugby when she was 25 years old. She joined Harlequins in 2017 and made her England debut later that year against Canada. In 2019, she received a full time rugby contract from the Rugby Football Union and went on to earn 30 caps for the Red Roses, including playing in the final of the 2021 Rugby World Cup against New Zealand. Following her retirement from playing, Shaunagh is using her growing media profile to promote women’s sport and is a champion of resilience and inclusion.

Aoibheann Reilly

An Ireland rugby international across both XVs and Sevens, Aoibheann Reilly is a qualified sports scientist who shares our passion for women’s sport. A scrum half, Aoibheann has rugby in her blood and has played domestically for Celtic Challenge side Wolfhounds, and for Connacht. Following her Ireland XVs debut in the 2022 Women's Six Nations against Wales, she represented Ireland at the 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup before returning to XVs and starting every game in the 2024 Women’s Six Nations. Having played a key role in helping Ireland qualify for the 2025 Rugby World Cup, Aoibheann was selected in Ireland's World Cup squad. She made three appearances in the tournament, against France, New Zealand and Japan, as Ireland reached the quarter finals. 

Rhona Lloyd

Current Scotland international winger Rhona Lloyd has earned more than 60 caps for her country, scoring more than 25 tries. She played a key role in Scotland’s journey to the quarter finals of Rugby World Cup 2025, scoring twice in Scotland’s win against Fiji and once against both England and Canada, the two eventual finalists. Rhona has also represented Great Britain in Sevens and recently signed with Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season. Outside of rugby, she’s a passionate advocate for mental health and body image in sport and is a co-host of the Women Who Sport podcast which aims to inspire and empower the next generation.

Siwan Lillicrap

Swansea-born Siwan Lillicrap is a former Wales rugby captain. Having made her Wales debut in the 2016 Six Nations, Siwan was appointed captain in 2019 and went on to earn 51 caps for her country during her career.  She led Wales at multiple major tournaments including the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and was the first female rugby player to receive a professional contract from the Welsh Rugby Union. Siwan now plays a key role in developing the next generation of talent as Head of the WRU’s Women’s Performance Pathway. In 2025, she was awarded an honorary degree by Swansea University for her outstanding contributions to Welsh rugby.

Lions Women's Team FAQs

The Lions Women's Team will be an international rugby team made up of the best women's rugby players from each of the four Home Unions (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The first ever Lions Women's Team will form in 2027. For context, in men's rugby, there has been a Lions Men's Team since 1888 that comes together every four years for a summer tour.

The Lions Women's Team's first ever tour will take place from 4 to 25 September 2027 in New Zealand. The tour will see the Lions Women's Team play matches across both North Island and South Island of New Zealand, in Whangārei, Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.

The Lions Women's Team will play five matches in New Zealand, including a three-Test series against the Black Ferns who are New Zealand's national women's rugby team. The tour will also see the Lions play in two non-Test fixtures against a Black Ferns XV and an Invitational XV. The fixtures are as follows:​

  • Saturday 4 September​
    Black Ferns XV v Lions (Whangārei, Semenoff Stadium)​
  • Saturday 11 September​
    1st Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Auckland, Go Media Mt Smart Stadium)​
  • Tuesday 14 September​
    Invitational XV v Lions (Hamilton, FMG Stadium Waikato)​
  • Saturday 18 September​
    2nd Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Wellington, Sky Stadium)​
  • Saturday 25 September​
    3rd Test: Black Ferns v Lions (Christchurch, One NZ Stadium)

With the tour not starting until September 2027, the team won't be selected until some point in 2027.

The Head Coach of the Lions Women's Team has not been named yet.​

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