Women’s British and Irish Lions tour: Make-up of Lions squad won’t worry Black Ferns as inaugural tour revealed

Black Ferns Sylvia Brunt, Patricia Maliepo and Liana Mikaele-Tu'u at the announcement of the British and Irish Lions Women's tour of New Zealand. Photosport

Black Ferns midfielder Sylvia Brunt wants the British and Irish Lions to bring the best of the best for their historic rugby tour of New Zealand in 2027.

If that means a team loaded with English players, so be it.

For the first time, a women’s Lions team will be assembled and travel to New Zealand for a tour of a minimum of five games, including three tests, in September 2027. It will be the latest chapter in the rich history of Lions tours to New Zealand, with the men’s side visiting on 12 occasions dating back to 1888.

But just what the women’s squad might look like when the tour comes around was a key talking point when the announcement was made, given England’s dominance in the women’s game.

“I guess the coaches will do whatever is best for the team in terms of the selection. They’ll pick the best of the best and we want to play the best of the best,” Brunt told the Herald.

“If that means more English ladies than the other ladies, then that’s what it is. But I would love to see a bit more Irish ladies in there, Welsh ladies and Scottish ladies in there. There’s some good talent there that’s growing as well.”

In the World Rugby team of the year for 2023, England had seven players selected, with the other eight comprised of New Zealand players (six) and France (two).

England have won seven of the last eight Six Nations tournaments and the last time a nation aside from England or France won the title was Ireland’s triumph in 2015.

The Red Roses were the first women’s side to benefit from professional contracts five years ago. Wales, Scotland and Ireland have been slow to follow suit, although Wales last year established 32 fulltime contracts in their women’s team ahead of the inaugural WXV1 tournament - which was won convincingly by England.

England won the inaugural WXV 1 tournament last year, outscoring their opponents 120-31 across their three tests. Photo / Photosport

With three and a half years before the tour, New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said what he had seen from the likes of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in recent fixtures gave him confidence players from outside of England would be pushing for Lions spots when the time comes.

“Three and a half years is a long time in sport,” Robinson said.

“That’s something they’ll be working through, but certainly during World Cup, you’ve seen glimpses and around other fixtures for that matter, you’ve seen glimpses of where Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been improving.

“If you look at what Ireland are starting to do on the sevens circuit, obviously incredibly strong in the women’s space and... growing all the time. So, we expect there to be, you know, more of a balance across that team in three and a half years’ time.”

Regardless of what the team might look like, it’s an additional feature of the future international calendar for current and aspiring Black Ferns and Super Rugby Aupiki talents to look forward to.

The Black Ferns squad is full of young talent, with 18 members of last year’s end-of-year squad under 25.

With competitions such as the NRLW also now providing opportunities for players, Brunt said having a Lions tour scheduled would be an incentive to keep players in rugby.

“It’s massive. Seeing and hearing about the legacy the Lions have had in the men’s space, knowing that’s what we could have and that’s what we’ll build toward is really exciting.

“It’s something that we could inspire the other athletes to come up and be a part of as well, so I think it will help massively in the union space.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.