The Lions are renowned for their travel support. Photo: PA/David Davies
Interest in the British and Irish Lions' next tour of Australia The year has already broken all records, with supporters having already purchased more than 10,000 official travel packages just four months after going on sale.
The figure already exceeds the most packages sold on any previous tour, despite Andy Farrell's side still having more than a year to go before they embark on a nine-game tour of Australia. This is more than double the number of people who traveled to Australia for the 2013 tour.
Lions officials also said demand for the pre-tour game against Argentina in Dublin was also unprecedented. The number of supporters voting for tickets suggests they could sell out the 51,700-capacity Aviva Stadium more than five times over, given the level of interest.
There have also been more than 100 million video views on the Lions' social media channels this year – a figure already higher than the entire 2021 tour of South Africa, when global pandemic restrictions meant games had to be played behind closed doors.< /p>
Unmet demand has led to an explosion of interest in next year's tour, according to Shane Whelan, Lions director of digital, marketing and communications. The Lions faced the Maori All Blacks on the 2017 tour, which has been played more than 45 million times.
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Whelan said the video of the Lions scrimmage received more views than any video posted by an NFL Instagram account during this year's Super Bowl, including a kiss between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, and also surpassed former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp's recent farewells. with fans. Notably, more than 50 percent of Lions' official social audience supporters are now between the ages of 18 and 34.
“Our digital platforms allow us to connect with our global fan base of around 14 million people in innovative ways and that is really important to the Lions,” Whelan told Telegraph Sport. “Looking ahead to a record-breaking tour in 2025, the appeal and anticipation is reflected in the digital engagement across our various platforms, as well as the huge demand we are seeing from fans, including for the pre-tour match in Dublin.< /p>
“After the absence of fans on the Covid-impacted 2021 tour, we're delighted to see that enthusiasm turn into a sea of red in Australia, supported by audiences around the world in just over a year.
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“The challenge from a Lions perspective is that we traditionally have a four-year cycle between tours, and so we have to rely heavily on archival moments to keep fans interested between each series on social media.”
Interest arises. despite concerns that Australia, who failed to progress from their group at the Rugby World Cup in France last year, will not offer the same level of competition as previous tours against the Springboks and All Blacks.
Fans have not been able to come and watch the Lions since their 2017 tour of New Zealand. Photo: PA/David Davis
The financial collapse of the Melbourne Rebels, who were due to play the Lions between the first and second Tests. against the Wallabies, has also forced Rugby Australia to consider alternative opposition such as Super Rugby Pacific side Moana Pacifica.
However, Joe Schmidt, the former Ireland head coach, is now expected to reinstate the Wallabies following the departure of Eddie Jones, it is expected that the number of traveling Lions fans is likely to increase over the next 12 months, with expats from the four Home Unions in Australia also purchasing thousands of tickets.
“The Video results were certainly fantastic, and We're really excited about the opportunity to connect with a younger audience a year before the tour,” added Whelan. “But what's most important to us is how we can use these incredible numbers to better understand our fans and turn the millions of people who follow us on social media into passionate supporters.”
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