Lions vs Brumbies: Kick-off time today, TV channel, live stream, lineups, team news, h2h, venue, odds
Andy Farrell has selected a team in the capital Canberra that looks very much like the one he will field against the Wallabies in the first Test in Brisbane on July 19, with just a couple of positions left up for debate.
Advertisement
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE LIONS VS BRUMBIES LIVE!
The Lions will be looking for a huge improvement on Saturday's disjointed 21-10 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney, when they committed handling errors galore during a thoroughly scrappy contest that was a far cry from their eight-try routs of both the Queensland Reds and Western Force that had seen them bounce back so emphatically from a shock defeat by Argentina in Dublin.
Though missing a number of Australian internationals following Sunday's last-gasp win over Fiji in Newcastle, the Brumbies - coached by former Wallabies fly-half stalwart Stephen Larkham - are Australia's best-performing Super Rugby franchise and finished third this season, eventually losing 37-17 to the Chiefs in the semi-finals after beating the Hurricanes.
Lions vs Brumbies date, kick-off time and venue
The Lions meet the Brumbies at 11am BST - 8pm local time - today, Wednesday July 9, 2025 in what is their penultimate match before the first Test against Australia, with an AUNZ Invitational XV awaiting in Adelaide at the weekend.
Advertisement
The game takes place at the 25,011-capacity GIO Stadium in Canberra, which also hosts the Canberra Raiders of the NRL.
How to watch Lions vs Brumbies
TV channel: Sky Sports have exclusive broadcasting rights to the Lions tour in the UK this summer. Wednesday's match broadcast begins at 10am BST on both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action.
Live stream: Those with a Sky Sports subscription can also watch the game live online via the Sky Go app, while it's also available to stream via NOW.
Live blog: Follow all the action on Wednesday with Standard Sport's live blog.
Lions vs Brumbies team news
As expected, Farrell has named what many expect to be the starting first Test XV for what could well be their most difficult challenge on this tour outside the Wallabies series.
Advertisement
The only slight question marks remain around full-back, where Blair Kinghorn starts after making his first tour appearance on the wing on Saturday as he looks to outduel Hugo Keenan, and at tighthead prop, where Tadhg Furlong is still among the world's best and a proven Lions veteran but needs to get back to top form with the likes of Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham pressing hard.
Joe McCarthy looks to be firmly in the driving seat for that second lock spot alongside captain Maro Itoje, while Ollie Chessum is ahead of Tadhg Beirne to line up at blindside flanker in a back row also featuring openside Tom Curry and Jack Conan, who in the absence of Ireland skipper Caelan Doris is the only out-and-out number eight on the tour.
Henry Pollock is on the bench after being withdrawn late against the Waratahs as a precaution with a tight calf, while there is no Welshman in the squad at all with Jac Morgan not selected and Tomos Williams having flown home injured along with Elliot Daly.
The game comes too soon for Owen Farrell, who is expected to play against the AUNZ Invitational XV after training fully for the first time on Tuesday. The Canberra-born Mack Hansen is set to face his old club off the bench.
Reunion: Australia-born Ireland and Lions wing Mack Hansen previously played for the Brumbies (Getty Images)
The Brumbies are without all of Allan Alaalatoa, James Slipper, Nick Frost, Len Ikitau, Billy Pollard and Tom Wright as Joe Schmidt prepares to name his revised Australia squad for the Lions on Friday, with Rob Valetini having missed out through injury against Fiji and fly-half Noah Lolesio undergone surgery that will rule him out for the whole series having been stretchered off in Newcastle.
Advertisement
Flanker Tom Hooper - who will join Exeter next season - and wing Corey Toole have been released by the Wallabies to start, though Blake Schoupp and Charlie Cale are among the key injury absentees.
Lions vs Brumbies lineups
Lions XV: Kinghorn; Freeman, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong; Itoje (c), McCarthy; Chessum, Curry, Conan
Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Stuart, Van der Flier, Pollock, Mitchell, M Smith, Hansen
Brumbies XV: Muirhead; O'Donnell, Sapsford, Feliuai, Toole; Meredith, R Lonergan (c); Leli, L Lonergan, Van Nek; Shaw, Neville; T Hooper, Scott, Tualima
Advertisement
Replacements: Bowron, Orr, Fotuaika, L Hooper, Reimer, Goddard, Debreczeni, Creighton
Lions vs Brumbies head to head (h2h) history and results
The Lions lost their last match against the Brumbies in 2013, the hosts edging out the tourists 14-13 in a famous victory ahead of the Test series, which the Lions won 2-1 under Warren Gatland for their first series win since 1997 in South Africa.
The Lions beat them 30-28 before their series defeat by the Wallabies in 2001, Austin Healey's dramatic last-gasp try successfully converted by Matt Dawson.
Lions wins: 1
Brumbies wins: 1
Draws: 0
Repeat or revenge? The Brumbies beat the Lions back in 2013 in a famous result (Getty Images)
Lions vs Brumbies prediction
This is where things get serious for the Lions, with a lot of expectation falling upon what is essentially the Test team to lay down a marker and rise to the challenge against Australia's best Super Rugby side, albeit one seriously weakened by missing so many Wallabies stars.
Advertisement
Andy Farrell bemoaned the sheer number of handling errors and botched opportunities against the Waratahs, but called the game a valuable learning experience.
He will be expecting far better this time around and the onus is on the Lions to utilise their physicality and hugely superior strength in depth to emphatic effect, all the while keeping up those notable improvements to both scrum and lineout, also delivering a vastly improved attacking display with ball in hand.
We're backing the Lions to rise to the occasion and send out a real statement after Australia's massively underwhelming performance against Fiji in their only warm-up game, in which they needed a late try from Harry Wilson to avoid a chastening loss.
Lions to win, by 15 points.
Lions vs Brumbies match odds
Lions to win: 1/80
Brumbies to win: 33/1
Draw: 50/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Australia wins toss, sends West Indies in to bat in 3rd T20
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (AP) — Australia won the toss and chose to bowl in the third game of the best-of-five Twenty20 international cricket series against West Indies on Friday. The Australians, who lead the series 2-0 after back-to-back victories in Kingston, Jamaica, named an unchanged lineup with veteran Glenn Maxwell to again open the batting with captain Mitch Marsh. West Indies have made two changes with allrounder Romario Shepherd coming in for the retired Andre Russell, while Jediah Blades makes his T20 international debut in place of Alzarri Joseph. Australia had a three-wicket win to open the series on Sunday on the back of half centuries by Cameron Green and debutant Mitch Owen. In the second game on Wednesday, Josh Inglis and Green led Australia to an eight-wicket victory, spoiling Russell's last game for West Indies. The back-to-back wins at Sabina Park extended Australia's streak to five in the Caribbean following the 3-0 test series sweep. —— Lineups: West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Jediah Blades. Australia: Mitch Marsh (captain), Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshius, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa. ___ AP cricket:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Toby Greene under fire over 'dirty' act as swipe at Swans rival divides AFL world
Toby Greene could find himself in hot water with the AFL's Match Review Officer after a controversial hit on Swans star Isaac Heeney. But the GWS Giants captain and his coach have both brushed off Greene's 'overweight' jibe at Swans rival Tom Papley that has divided the AFL world. The tenth-placed Swans had to beat their cross-city rivals to keep their slim finals hopes alive and looked on track after jumping out to a 35-point lead before the main break. But they kicked just one goal in the second half and GWS launched a stunning third-quarter surge to wrap up a comfortable win. It could come at a cost though, with Greene facing scrutiny over a number of incidents during the fiery clash. The GWS skipper could find himself in the crosshairs of the MRO after an unnecessary forearm that collected Heeney high, after the Swans superstar had been wrapped up in a tackle. Heeney was lying on the turf when Greene came into the contest and made contact with Heeney's head with his forearm. Some viewers described it as a 'dirty' act from the GWS skipper, who was immediately pinged for a free kick. He also caught Aaron Francis off the ball with a swinging arm that saw the Swans player go down, and gifted Sydney a shot on goal. The MRO has taken a dim view on similar acts this season and Greene could be facing his first suspension of the season, ahead of a crucial game against top-eight rivals the Western Bulldogs next Thursday night. Toby Greene gave away a free kick for this high contact on Isaac Heeney.📺 Watch #AFLGiantsSwans on Ch.503 or stream on Kayo: BLOG MATCH CENTRE — Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 25, 2025 I like Toby Greene but he is 100% a dirty player #AFLGiantsSwans — outbreezy (@outbreezyWC) July 25, 2025 I love Toby, but my god he makes it near on impossible to defend so many of his actions. — damien clark (@dpclark81) July 25, 2025 I love Greene, been one my fave players for a long time. But the continuous fines for his 'dirty' behaviour / non-footy acts off the ball aren't working. Where's the need to for Toby change his behaviour?! Also MRO, are we serious about the head or not? #AFLGiantsSwans — Ann Miller (@TidoteAnne) July 25, 2025 RELATED: AFL fans shower Joel Selwood with support after return of Cats hero Rival AFL player breaks ranks with statement about Steven May New blow for Collingwood as important player sidelined for weeks Toby Greene makes 'overweight' jibe at Tom Papley The Giants captain also risked copping a fine over his halftime interview with Fox Footy in which he took a shot at Swans sparring partner Papley's weight. Greene was asked about Papley's influence on the first half as the Swans established a solid lead, but the GWS skipper decided to focus on his apparent lack of fitness instead. 'He's looking overweight,' Greene told Fox Footy. 'We'll see how he goes second half.' The comment immediately raised eyebrows around the AFL world, with many insisting Greene overstepped the mark and deserved to be sanctioned, while others thought it was just banter. I'm a swans fan, that's gold. Play on — Baz (@SunCstGunnerBaz) July 25, 2025 Does he get a fine for that?? — Tia McQueen (@TiaMcQueen) July 25, 2025 Surely we are not gonna give weeks for banter now are we? — Logs (@logs1988) July 25, 2025 It comes after Brisbane's Dayne Zorko copped a $3000 fine for a foul-mouth tirade towards the officials bench last week. Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was also fined $20,000 last year for goading Hawthorn players. But speaking after the game, Greene simply put it down to 'a good bit of fun' and Giants coach Adam Kingsley said he'd be 'pretty disappointed' if his captain got a fine. "They're trying to put each other off, and they're doing it all within the rules, of course," the GWS coach said about players from both sides after Papley had made a point of celebrating his first major on return from a hamstring by running straight towards Greene. "Winners are grinners, and if you're not, you move on." Friday night's victory was the sixth in a row from GWD and moves them up into fifth (13-6) on the ladder, with Greene revealing it was a halftime spray from Kingsley that sparked the comeback. "It was a good one. It was direct," Greene said. "We deserved it, though. We were pretty ordinary in the first half. Their (Sydney's) work rate and contest were miles ahead of where we needed to be." with AAP
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Australia wins toss, sends West Indies in to bat in 3rd T20
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (AP) — Australia won the toss and chose to bowl in the third game of the best-of-five Twenty20 international cricket series against West Indies on Friday. The Australians, who lead the series 2-0 after back-to-back victories in Kingston, Jamaica, named an unchanged lineup with veteran Glenn Maxwell to again open the batting with captain Mitch Marsh. West Indies have made two changes with allrounder Romario Shepherd coming in for the retired Andre Russell, while Jediah Blades makes his T20 international debut in place of Alzarri Joseph. Australia had a three-wicket win to open the series on Sunday on the back of half centuries by Cameron Green and debutant Mitch Owen. In the second game on Wednesday, Josh Inglis and Green led Australia to an eight-wicket victory, spoiling Russell's last game for West Indies. The back-to-back wins at Sabina Park extended Australia's streak to five in the Caribbean following the 3-0 test series sweep. —— West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Jediah Blades. Australia: Mitch Marsh (captain), Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshius, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa. ___
