The 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia has a unique and exciting fixture on the confirmed list. The age old rivals of the Wallabies and All Blacks, are set to join forces to form an Australia-New Zealand Invitational side to take on the Lions.
We decided to dust off the crystal ball this week, and look to the future to predict the selected side of Trans-Tasman all stars. There are plenty of elements to factor in, to make this prediction as realistic as possible, despite how fun it would be to just pick a dream XV.
In 2025, the Wallabies will be keeping their top players in camp ahead of the the trio of test matches against the Lions. This narrows down the crop of available Australian stars, as we look to the fringes of the current squad, to see who may be allowed an exhibition run-about for the invitational side.
Also, the Lions fixtures against the Super Rugby sides are in contention, with the club sides unlikely to let their best players go should they risk an injury ahead of their own clash with the tourists. The calibre of All Blacks are expected to be strong, however, sabbaticals in Japan can also influence the available player group.
So, ahead of this weekend’s all-important Bledisloe Cup match, which see’s Eddie Jones’ Wallabies battle against the All Blacks in the 2023 Rugby Championship, we took a look to the future. Here are RUCK’s picks for the 2025 Australia-New Zealand Invitation side that will take on the British & Irish Lions.
Be sure to check back on July 12th 2025, to see how many names we guessed correctly.
Back Three
15. Damien McKenzie
14. Will Jordan
11. Corey Toole
With Beauden Barrett off to Japan after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he is expected to be out of the All Blacks fold for the foreseeable future with his plans set to take shape with Toyota Verblitz. Chiefs star Damian McKenzie will slot in at fullback, which he has done so confidentially in the past for the All Blacks.
McKenzie also guided the Chiefs to the 2023 Super Rugby Final from the 15 jersey, with it coming as a surprise to see him selected at fly half for the 2023 Rugby Championship. All Blacks teammate Will Jordan slots in on the right wing, with the Crusaders superstar ready to debut his match-winning magic to the British & Irish Lions.
Jordan partners up across the back three with emerging Wallabies winger Corey Toole, with the 23-year-old set to come into his prime in a couple of years. Toole has been recently making his breakthrough with Australia ‘A’, after an impressive few seasons with the Brumbies in Super Rugby.