Update: British & Irish Lions 2017 New Zealand tour

About 2017 British & Irish Lions New Zealand Tour rugby tickets

The very best tickets are on sale online for DHL NZ Lions Series 2017! Lions and New Zealand rugby fans around the world will are now able to secure their seats for next summer’s DHL NZ Lions Series! Tickets for the eagerly anticipated series are available from LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk for all seven non-Test matches involving the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians, Super Rugby teams and Maori All Blacks. The New Zealand All Blacks will host The British & Irish Lions Tour in 2017. The 2017 British & Irish Lions rugby tour of New Zealand is expected to be one of the nation’s biggest rugby events since the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This is the Lion's first tour to New Zealand since 2005.

The New Zealand tour series gets underway in Whangarei, New Zealand on June 3, 2017 and culminates in Auckland on the North Island on July 8 when the All Blacks play the third and final test against the British & Irish Lions. The sides will play 10 matches across 7 cities from Whangarei to Dunedin during the tour.Test match tickets are available now for sale in a range of prices. New Zealand matches will be fought with rugby players from the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians, Super Rugby teams and Maori All Blacks. The Maori All Blacks go head to head with the British & Irish Lions in Rotorua on June 17. The British & Irish Lions side trace their roots back to 1888 when two English cricketers, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury, arranged a tour that set the side in motion. The first tourists even played 19 games of Australian rules football, winning six and drawing one.

The first officially sanctioned Lions tour took place in 1891 to the southern hemisphere from 'the British Isles'. Then in 1899 a travelling party of rugby players represented each of the four home nations for the first time on tour. Competition increased with South Africa beating the tourists for the first time in 1903. In 1908 the first Lions tour to New Zealand took place earning the tourists a 2-1 Test series victory. Two years later theofficially named 'Lions' side was created, with a single lion crest used on the jerseys iused in the tour to South Africa. The name Lions became official on the the Springboks Tour in 1924.

In 1950, the Lions toured New Zealand, Australia and Ceylon and began to wear the red jersey, white shorts and green and blue socks. In 1955, the Lions secured 19 wins and 1 draw from 25 fixtures including a memorable 2-2 Test series with South Africa. In Australia and New Zealand four years later the Lions lost just 6 of their 35 clashes. The first Lions coach, John Robins, led the 1966 Tour. The Lions recorded 2 Test wins in Australia. To date in the Lions' only Test victory in New Zealand, the legendary squad included Gareth Edwards, Barry John and captain John Dawes.After losing their opening tour match in Queensland, the Lions went on to win 15 games, including the first Test against the All Blacks 9-3. The second Test was their only other defeat on Tour, bringing a 2-1 series lead into the final New Zealand clash at Eden Park, the tourists flew home triumphant after a stunning 14-14 draw. In 1974 Willie John McBride's side responded to the '99 call' and matched the South Africans in another Test series-winning tour, proving without a doubt that the Lions could beast the best Test sides in the world.

The Lions suffered some bad luck in the Test clashes during the 1980s even though their general record on Tour remained impressive. The decade ended as the Lions, led by manager Sir Ian McGeechan for the first time, recovered from a heavy loss in the first Test to defeat Australia in 1989. The 1990s also proved to be highly-competitive for the Lions. In the 1993 New Zealand Tour, the Lions were on the losing end of a 20-18 thriller in the first clash. A Gavin Hastings inspired touring party leveled the series up. The combined minds of Fran Cotton, Jim Telfer and Sir Ian reportedly masterminded the 1997 triumph on the South Africa Tour. The second Test was won by a Jerry Guscott drop-goal. The tourists’ efforts in Australia and South Africa slipped away from the Lions. The 16-year drought for another series triumph ended in 2013 after Warren Gatland’s side defeated Australia. The first two Tests were settled by two points and one point respectively, through the boot of Leigh Halfpenny. In the third Test after a second-half salvo the Lions earned a 41-16 win in Sydney, Australia.

Here is a potential Lions squad for the 2017 New Zealand Tour.

Mike Brown (England), Anthony Watson (England), Mark Bennett (Scotland), Jamie Roberts (Wales), George North (Wales), Dan Biggar (Wales), Greig Laidlaw (Scotland); Cian Healy (Ireland), Rory Best (Ireland), WP Nel (Scotland), Richie Gray (Scotland), Alun Wyn-Jones (Wales), Dan Lydiate (Wales), Sam Warburton (Wales), Toby Faletau (Wales).

Buy British & Irish Lions Tickets @ LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk

Join the Pride! Support the 2017 British and Irish Lions Tour!

All fixtures will be played in New Zealand in the summer of 2017. This tour is sure to sell out – so buy your legal, authentic British & Lions tickets now for great prices from LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk to watch the Lions go face-to-face with Provincial Union XV, Blues, Crusaders, Highlanders, Maori All Blacks, Chiefs, New Zealand, and Hurricanes!

Provincial Union XV v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Blues v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Crusaders v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Highlanders v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Maori All Blacks v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Chiefs v British & Irish Lions Tickets
New Zealand v British & Irish Lions Tickets
Hurricanes v British & Irish Lions Tickets