Itoje To Captain Strong British & Irish Lions Squad

The 30-year-old second-rower, set for his third tour, is the first Englishman in 24 years to captain the Northern Hemisphere all-stars, the last being legendary lock Martin Johnson when the men in red also toured Down Under. Interestingly, 50% of Lions skippers have been locks since 1974.

BREAKING: Maro Itoje is the 2025 British and Irish Lions captain for the tour of Australia! 🦁 pic.twitter.com/35kMPp9d0T

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) May 8, 2025

Irish No. 8 Caelan Doris, who was the frontrunner to lead the Lions, has been ruled out of the tour due to the shoulder injury he sustained in Leinster’s 37-34 loss to the Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin last Saturday. 

The squad was announced on Thursday at a special event at Indigo at The O2 in London, where Lions board chair and tour manager Ieuan Evans, a three-time tourist who scored the series-clinching try in 1989 against the Wallabies, read out the selections made by head coach Andy Farrell and his support staff.

“I want to congratulate Maro on being named captain of the British & Irish Lions,” said Farrell.

“This is a great honour for Maro, his family and everyone who has supported him throughout his career from Saracens to England and on to the Lions in 2017 and 2021.

“As a two-time tourist, Maro fully understands what the Lions is all about and also the role of the captain in helping the group achieve its goal of winning a Test Series this summer.”

Itoje, fully kitted out, said: “It feels amazing to be named Lions captain.

“I’m deeply honoured, humbled and I will do my best to do the role justice. I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead, it’s going to be a great tour.

“I know the appetite amongst the players is extremely high, everyone is hungry to be a Lion and I can’t wait to play my role.”

The squad consists of 21 forwards and 17 backs and comprises 14 Irish players, 13 Englishmen – including back row prodigy Henry Pollock, the youngest player in the group at 20 – eight Scottish players – including South African-born prop Pierre Schoeman and wing Duane van der Merwe – and two Welsh players.

The group features 26 first-time tourists and nine players who’ll participate in their second Lions tour, while Tadhg Furlong and Elliot Daly have been selected for a third Lions tour.

“Since we met as a coaching unit for the very first time six weeks ago we have been discussing more than 75 players of interest,” said Farrell.

“But the key job is getting that squad balance right as we prepare for a long and demanding tour that finishes with a three-Test series against the Wallabies.

“I am very excited about working with this group and believe they have the capacity to achieve something special and add to the Lions legacy,” he added.

The British & Irish Lions Squad:

Forwards: (21)

Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838

Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)

Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851

Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853

Ben Earl (Saracens/England)

Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #848

Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818

Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)

Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)

Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)

Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)

Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)

Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)

Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Backs: (17)

Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837

Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822

Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)

Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)

James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)

Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835

Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855

Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841

Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)