As the Wallaby Test series draws ever closer, the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025 heads to the capital for a clash with the Brumbies in Canberra.

Fresh from making it a hat-trick of wins on Australian soil, The British & Irish Lions now have just two more matches before the Test series gets underway.

For Head Coach Andy Farrell, that means another look at potential Test combinations, as he finetunes the side that will run out in Brisbane for the first Test.

They take on a Brumbies side who triumphed in this fixture 12 years ago, Tevita Kuridrani with the sole try in a 14-12 success.

Maro Itoje will captain the Lions this time around, with an enticing half-back pairing of Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell, their second start after playing in the win over the Reds.

Elsewhere, Ollie Chessum is given a chance to show what he can do at blindside flanker, while Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose start together for the first time in the midfield on this Tour.

While they will be missing a number of front line Wallabies, it is still a Brumbies team featuring many of the players who helped them reach the semi-finals of Super Rugby Pacific.

So the Lions will need to be at their best to remain unbeaten in Australia on this Tour.

Where to watch

Sky Sports will be showing all the action live in the UK, Ireland and Gibraltar throughout this Tour.

Welsh language channel S4C will broadcast extensive same-day highlights of each game every evening.

For a full breakdown, click here.

What they said

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said of the Hooper brothers: “It’s been amazing to watch the growth of both Tom and Lachie over the past few years. And it’s special that they may get the opportunity to play alongside each other in a Brumbies shirt on Wednesday night.

“Not only that, but it’s against a world-class team in the British & Irish Lions, who tour our country only every 12 years. They’ll be chomping at the bit to contribute positively to the team.

“The boys have been back in training for a couple of weeks and they are aware of how big an opportunity this is for them to take on the Lions. We’re under no illusions at the challenge that lies ahead, they are an incredibly strong and powerful side.”

British & Irish Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell said: “In 2013 the Brumbies beat The British & Irish Lions in Canberra and this year they were the leading Australian team in Super Rugby - so we are fully aware of the challenge in front of us.

“It will also be a special occasion for Mack Hansen as he returns to his hometown and gets the opportunity to play for and represent the Lions against some of his old teammates.”

Key Battle Tom Hooper v Ollie Chessum

The battle of the blindsides has the potential to be very influential on Test selection for both teams.

Tom Hooper is a back-rower capable of filling in at lock when required, while Ollie Chessum is more of a lock who has it in him to switch back to the back row if necessary.

Hooper was used off the bench against Fiji last weekend, and has come straight back into this encounter – his last for the Brumbies before he heads north to play for Exeter Chiefs.

Chessum, meanwhile, gets his first start of the Tour at blindside flanker, a role previously filled by Tadhg Beirne. With his size and work-rate, Chessum should equip himself comfortably in the lineout and around the park as the Lions search for the perfect back-row balance.

Should Chessum holds his own against the Brumbies, he will start to put serious pressure on in the race for a Test spot.

Oval Insights

• There is no Welsh involvement in the matchday squad for the first time in over a century. No Welshman toured Argentina in any of the three non-test playing tours in 1910, 1927 and 1936, whilst the sole Wales representative on the 1899 tour to Australia, centre Gwyn Nichols missed only two games, against Mount Morgan on 11 July and New England on 25 July.

• Lions have played ACT on three previous occasions, in the amateur era in 1989 at Seiffert Oval in nearby Queanbeyan, winning 41-25 and twice against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in 2001, winning 30-28 and in 2013 losing 12-14.

• The Lions have played two other fixtures in the ACT, beating the Combined ACT/NSW Country side 47-3 in 1950 and NSW Country Eagles 6-3 in 1966. Both games were played at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

• Mack Hansen played twenty-one games for the Brumbies between 2019-2021, ten of those were at GIO Stadium, scoring just three tries all in the same game against the Waratahs at GIO Stadium in Super Rugby Australia in February 2021.

• Ben O’Donnell and Mack Hansen played together once for Connacht, appearing on opposite wings against Dragons in October 2021.

• Ben O'Donnell and Bundee Aki played together once for Connacht against Ospreys in the Rainbow Cup in June 2021

• Billy Pollard and Corey Toole scored 11 tries apiece in Super Rugby this year - the joint-second most among all the players. Toole also made the joint-most line breaks (24).

• Tom Hooper made the most carries (166) and post-contact metres (186) for the Brumbies in Super Rugby this year. He also made the second-most tackles (197), and won the second-most turnovers (15).

• The Brumbies conceded the fewest penalties per 80 minutes (7.8) in this year’s Super Rugby. They had a ruck success rate of 96.6% (2nd), a scrum success rate of 97.1% (2nd), and a lineout success rate of 87% (3rd).

• Alex Mitchell beat seven defenders and made two line breaks vs Waratahs. His try and try assist took him to five try involvements on tour so far - more than any other Lion.

• Josh Van Der Flier made more tackles than any other Lion (15) and won a turnover last weekend; he had a 100% tackle success rate

Teams

ACT Brumbies: 15. Andy Muirhead, 14. Ben O’Donnell, 13. Ollie Sapsford, 12. David Feliuai, 11. Corey Toole, 10. Declan Meredith, 9. Ryan Lonergan (c), 1. Lington Ieli, 2. Lachlan Lonergan, 3. Rhys van Nek, 4. Lachie Shaw, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Tom Hooper, 7. Rory Scott, 8. Tuaina Taii Tualima

Replacements: 16. Liam Bowron, 17. Cameron Orr, 18. Feao Fotuaika, 19. Lachie Hooper, 20. Luke Reimer, 21. Harrison Goddard, 22. Jack Debreczeni, 23. Hudson Creighton

The British & Irish Lions: 15. Blair Kinghorn, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Maro Itoje (c), 5. Joe McCarthy, 6. Ollie Chessum, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Jack Conan

Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Andrew Porter, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Josh van der Flier, 20. Henry Pollock, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Mack Hansen