Following the appointment of Andy Farrell to head coach of the British & Irish Lions, the latest odds have been released as to who will captain the side to Australia in 2025.
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The latest odds sees Leinster and Ireland lock James Ryan emerge as front-runner to the role, and lead the Lions out against the Wallabies.
Ryan is a considerable favourite due to his run as Leinster co-captain (alongside Garry Ringrose), and his involvement with Andy Farrell in the Ireland national team set-up. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen named Ryan and Ringrose as co-captains for the 2023/24 United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup campaigns, following the retirement of long-serving Leinster stalwart Johnny Sexton.
Ryan leads the latest odds with a strong ‘evens’ backing, at 1/1 (or 50%). His fellow countryman Peter O’Mahony is also amongst the six player shortlist, yet comes in at a far more unfavourable 20/1 (4.76%). Andy Farrell’s son Owen is also amongst the six names, despite the Saracen taking time away from the England set-up for the foreseeable future. Owen Farrell is also rumoured to be moving to France, with Racing 92 the front runners to the fly half’s signature.
The latest odds for the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour Captain – by BonusCodeBets
1/1 – James Ryan (50%)
4/1 – Maro Itoje (20%)
5/1 – Jac Morgan (16.7%)
10/1 -Jamie Ritchie (9.1%)
16/1 – Owen Farrell (5.9%)
20/1 – Peter O’Mahony (4.76%)
The current 36-man British & Irish Lions squad for 2025, according to the bookies
Andy Farrell faces numerous challenging decisions leading up to finalising his Lions squad, yet bookmakers appear confident in predicting the players destined for Australia next summer.
We found it intriguing to project a smaller squad based on the favored contenders according to bookmakers’ odds as of April19, 2024.
The Lions will play a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV as part of their nine-match tour down under in 2025.
The historic fixture in Adelaide will precede Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
A sell-out at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would smash records for a Lions Test match.
The series finale will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans in Sydney’s Olympic Park.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The bolded players in our proposed Lions squad represent the starting XV, according to current odds.
2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD (36)
BACK-THREE (6)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) – 1/16
- James Lowe (Ireland) – 1/8
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) – 1/5
- Tommy Freeman (England) – 4/9
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England) – 8/11
- Mack Hansen (Ireland) – 2/1
CENTRE (4)
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) – 1/5
- Ollie Lawrence (England) – 1/4
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) – 2/7
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) – 8/11
FLY-HALVES (3)
- George Ford (England) – 1/10
- Marcus Smith (England) – 8/15
- Finn Russell (Scotland) – 8/11