Jon Newcombe delivers his series preview for the British & Irish Lions Tour, with three recommended bets in his first staking plan.
Rugby Union betting tips: British & Irish Lions Tour
3pts British & Irish Lions to win the series 3-0 at 6/5 (Ladbrokes, BetVictor)
2pts Tommy Freeman to be top Test try-scorer at 4/1 (General)
1pt Jamison Gibson-Park top Irish Test try-scorer at 12/1 (General)
| |
Making bold statements about their team’s performance can backfire badly on sportsmen and women, as Indian cricket all-rounder Washington Sundar found out to his cost at Lord’s this week. Interviewed ahead of the final day’s play, Sundar said his team would have the third Test wrapped up before lunch. Sundar was duly caught and bowled by Jofra Archer for a four-ball duck as India fell short of their 193-run victory target.
Sundar’s bold claim clearly fired up England and Australia will be hoping that Henry Pollock’s words will be rammed back down his throat during the British & Irish Lions series. Pollock is quicker to come forward than a batter on a seaming wicket when given half a chance to express an opinion and he didn’t shy away from predicting that a 3-0 series win for the tourists “is definitely on the table.”
It may seem brash to some but why would the precocious talent say anything else? Okay, so Joe Schmidt has steadied the ship since the 2023 World Cup debacle when Australia failed to make it out of their pool and into the knockout stages under Eddie Jones, and in Joseph Suaali’i the Wallabies possess a game-breaker that another team in the world would love to have on their side.
But when all is said and done, and there’s been plenty of chat since Pollock’s comments, you can’t escape the fact that the Wallabies are still picking themselves off the floor from the nadir of 2023 and a whitewash is very much on the cards.
Strong Lions all hold the aces
Unbeaten, and largely untested on Australian soil so far, the Lions are 6/5 to go home with a 3-0 SERIES WIN, something that has never been achieved before in seven previous tours in the professional era. Fatigue and injuries might be factor as the series enters its final leg in Sydney on August 2nd, but Andy Farrell’s charges should be too strong in pretty much every area to be denied a piece of history, so our advice would be take odds against whilst it lasts.
In terms of set-piece solidity and directing play, the Lions hold all the aces. And it is extremely difficult to win a game of international rugby, or rugby at any level, if you don’t have front-foot ball and a fly-half that is masterful at putting their side in the right places.
The Lions’ breakdown is a work-on but at the scrum, they should have the Wallabies on toast. And in Finn Russell they have a player whose on top of his game and equally capable of executing a 50/22 as he is throwing a wonder cut-out pass for a try. Russell’s goal-kicking is also very much on point, slotting his last 18 for Bath as they bagged a hat-trick of trophies, and only missing a couple for the Lions.
Russell’s variety of passing has married well with the Irish-influenced attacking patterns and there should be plenty of try-scoring opportunities for those outside of him. However, the value could lie with his half-back partner, JAMISON GIBSON-PARK, who admittedly has yet to cross the whitewash on tour. The Ireland nine is now full back up to speed after a short-term injury layoff and is ready to burst into life and make some of his trademark breaks, having largely played the facilitator role up to now.
Regularly the player of the match for Ireland, Gibson-Park hasn’t been flush with tries in his 43-cap Ireland career, scoring seven times, but he’s a man for the big occasion, and with odds of 50/1, it might be worth a small wager.
Realistically, Gibson-Park’s Ireland teammate countryman Dan Sheehan, the highest-scoring forward in Six Nations history, is more likely to end up nearer the top of the try-scoring charts, and that is reflected in odds of 9/2 (Betfred). Sheehan has only dotted down once, in the very first minute of the opening game in Australia against the Western Force, so is due a score. And with the Lions likely to resort to the driving maul as a source of points, he should get plenty of opportunities to address that.
Freeman can finish top of the class
Understandably, TOMMY FREEMAN is the marginal favourite (4/1). The strong running Englishman is the only player with multiple tries (two) on tour pretty much guaranteed a starting spot when the first Test kicks off in Brisbane this Saturday.
Duhan van der Merwe scored a hat-trick in the 48-0 rout of the Invitational Australian and New Zealand XV, but that still might not be enough for him to get the nod ahead of James Lowe. Others like Garry Ringrose have fitness concerns and the centre pairing looks too close to call, which means shying away from Huw Jones, who is never a stranger to the try line.
If the Aussies can replicate the type of running that brought them a thrilling 42-37 win over England last November, at the start of an Autumn campaign that promised so much but failed to deliver, they will be amongst the tries.
Dylan Pietsch was left out of the matchday 23 for the 21-18 warm-up win against Fiji, but was impressive for the Force in the Lions’ opener, proving a hard man to put down. If Schmidt rolls the dice and decides to throw the five-cap player into the mix, you’d back him to be a threat. William Hill has gone out on a kilter by offering 33/1 for him to be the overall top Test try-scorer.
Preview published at 1145 BST on 16/07/25
ALSO READ: Jon Newcombe's first Test preview
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling.
Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at and .
