CAN you hear the roar? It’s approaching fast – the British and Irish Lions are set to take to the field once again on a tour of rugby-mad New Zealand.
Not only are they facing the double world champions, but a team that no Lions squad has defeated in a full series since 1971.
In fact, the last time the Lions even beat the All Blacks in a single Test match was in 1993.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest British and Irish Lions news with our blow-by-blow blog
Despite George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Corbisiero and Jonny Sexton’s heroics four years ago, when the Lions clinched a 2-1 win over Australia – this is another matter altogether.
Nobody can argue that New Zealand are one of the greatest rugby playing sides of all-time and their pedigree is unquestioned.
They’ve won the Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri Nations) four times in the last five years.
Here, SunSport breaks down all the fixtures and gives you all the TV times as well as squad info as the Lions get set for one of the biggest series in a generation.
BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS SQUAD 2017
BACKS: Biggar, Daly, J Davies, Farrell, Halfpenny, Henshaw, Hogg, Joseph, Murray, North, Nowell, Payne, Sexton, Seymour, Te’o, Watson, Webb, L Williams, Youngs.
FORWARDS: Best, Cole, Faletau, Furlong, George, Henderson, Itoje, AW Jones, Kruis, Lawes, Marler, McGrath, Moriarty, O’Brien, O’Mahoney, Owens, Sinckler, Stander, Tipuric, M Vunipola, B Vunipola, Warburton (c).
BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS 2017 TOUR FIXTURES
Saturday, June 3, 2017 – New Zealand Provincial Union XV vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Toll Stadium, Whangarei
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 – Blues vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Eden Park, Auckland
Saturday, June 10, 2017 – Crusaders vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 – Highlanders vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Forsyth Barr, Dunedin
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Maori All Blacks vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 – Chiefs vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – FMG Stadium, Waikato, Hamilton
Saturday, June 24, 2017 – NEW ZEALAND vs BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS – FIRST TEST – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 – Hurricanes vs British and Irish Lions – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, July 1, 2017 – NEW ZEALAND vs BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS – SECOND TEST – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, July 8, 2017 – NEW ZEALAND vs BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS – THIRD TEST – 8.35am UK & Ireland/7.35pm NZ – Eden Park, Auckland
All matches will be shown live on Sky Sports and Sky Sports HD as well as Sky Go.
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