Lions to make history with France game in Cardiff

The British and Irish Lions will play a historic first women’s fixture when they face France at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before their 2027 tour to New Zealand.

Jo Yapp’s side will face the French, ranked fourth in the world, in the Welsh capital on Friday, 27 August (19:30 BST).

The Lions face a Black Ferns XV the following weekend in Whangarei before the first of three Tests with New Zealand on 11 September.

“There are moments in sport that only come around once – and this is one of them,” said head coach Yapp.

“For our British and Irish Lions Women’s team to step on to the field for the first time, on home soil and in front of our fans, is going to be incredibly special.”

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Men’s Lions tours, featuring players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, have taken place since 1888.

The women will travel to New Zealand for a five-match tour that features Tests in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Yapp’s side will hope for a send-off in front of a bumper Cardiff crowd.

“It will be a tremendous rugby match and occasion,” said Carol Isherwood, chair of the Lions women’s committee.

“It’s a chance to grow the game and leave a legacy so that we are able to continue with the Lions team by setting the foundations and give everybody the chance to see the women’s game at its very best.”

A crowd of 21,186 set a record for a Wales women’s home game in any sport when watching the Six Nations defeat by England at Principality Stadium in 2025.

“I’ve been there for some England men’s games and the noise is fabulous. It’ll be great if it is a sea of red for the Lions and not just Wales,” said Isherwood, who captained Great Britain in 1986.

“We’ve got a fantastic tour in line, and we’re starting off with a brilliant occasion in Cardiff.

“We looked at some different options and going abroad, like the men have previously, but the Welsh Rugby Union said that they felt they could do a great job here.

“We have the fantastic stadium, the support for rugby, tradition of the women’s game having some important moments in Wales and the fact that we can get thousands under that roof to see the Lions women play.

“The visibility allows girls across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to dream of pulling on that red shirt one day.”

It will be the second time that the Lions have faced France after the men won a friendly in Paris in 1989.

France perfect preparation for Black Ferns

The Lions will go up against a France side who were semi-finalists at the 2025 World Cup and have been runners-up to England in the last seven Six Nations championships.

Last month they beat Australia and Canada in home fixtures in the WXV Global Series.

The men’s Lions teams have struggled in fixtures on home soil – they drew with Argentina in Cardiff in 2005 and lost to the Pumas in Dublin last year – and Isherwood admits it will be a test against more settled opponents.

“We’re bringing the best of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales players together and you’ve got a really tough job to unify them very quickly and get them on the same page,” she said.

“How we build an environment where they all can compete at their best is going to be phenomenal.

“It’s like bringing the Harlem Globetrotters together, but you’ve had no time and they’ll all come from different systems.

“How do you get them ready to go as a team within a short time? There’s an art to that and Jo and her coaches will be looking at how they will do that effectively, because this opening game against France will be tough.”

Lions’ fixtures

• 27 August, Cardiff, Principality Stadium, v France

• 4 Sept, Whangarei, Semenoff Stadium, v Black Ferns XV

• 11 Sept, first Test – Auckland, Go Media Stadium, v Black Ferns

• 14 Sept, Hamilton, FMG Stadium Waikato, v Invitational XV

• 18 Sept, second Test – Wellington, Sky Stadium, v Black Ferns

• 25 Sept, third Test – Christchurch, One NZ Stadium, v Black Ferns