Rugby Australia confirms replacement side to take on British and Irish Lions after Rebels axing

The British and Irish Lions were pencilled in to play the Melbourne Rebels before the club was kicked out of Super Rugby. The team to replace the axed franchise in the fixture has been confirmed.

Rugby Australia has chosen a combined First Nations and Pacific Island heritage team to face the might of the British and Irish Lions next year as a late replacement for the Melbourne Rebels after they were kicked out of Super Rugby.

The Lions were pencilled in to play the Rebels at Marvel Stadium on July 22, four days before the second Test against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but a new opponent was needed after the Rebels were placed into voluntary administration and their Super Rugby licence was not renewed.

Rugby Australia assured the Victorian government that it would retain both fixtures, which are guaranteed massive money spinners because of the army of supporters the Lions attract.

Almost 40,000 rugby fans travelled from Europe for the last tour in 2013 – selling out every game and pumping millions of tourism dollars into each of the host cities - and the forecasts for 2025 are that those numbers will be even bigger next year.

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh told The Times that an alternative opponent had been finally decided.

“We’re focused on a First Nations, Pacifica-style of game, which will be Australian-based players that have First Nations backgrounds or Pacifica backgrounds — ideally Australian-eligible players,” Waugh said.

“We’ll really engage with that population in Melbourne as well as the real spectacle of the way they play the game.”

The 2025 Australia v British & Irish Lions series is expected to attract massive crowds

As previously reported by this masthead, the Wallabies are also looking at breaking a 125-year tradition by playing a warm-up Test, possibly against Fiji, before hosting the Lions.

While the combined forces of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland will play six warm up matches before the first of their three Tests against Australia, including a game against Argentina in Dublin before heading Down Under, Joe Schmidt’s rapidly improving Wallabies currently have no practice matches scheduled.

Waugh said an announcement would soon be made confirming a warm-up Test, which is likely to be played on the weekend of July 5-6, a fortnight before the first Lions Test in Brisbane on July 19.