Here’s the second instalment in our two-part series, where all time great, David Campese, a Wallaby against the Lions in 1989, gives us a rundown of the venues chosen for the 2025 British and Irish Lions series, together with thoughts on where to go and what to do.
For those travelling to Australia to support the Lions, you’re in for a wonderful welcome in every respect. We’re a country that takes huge pride in both the standard of our sporting assets and of course, the pre and post match entertainment.
My one small caveat is don’t underestimate two things; travelling distances and climate variance. Australia is huge, and getting from match centre to match centre takes some planning if you’re not part of a travel group – so plan well. And if you decide to drive, check the sheer distances involved – they’re massive. As for the climate, there could be as much as 15-20 degrees difference between say Brisbane and Melbourne or Canberra at this time of year, so expect the best, but prepare for the worst!
Match 6: Saturday, July 12: Invitational Australia and New Zealand v British and Irish Lions, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
If there’s a bucket list host city for a Lions Test, my choice would be Adelaide. It’s the Aussie centre of arts and culture, with bars full of aspiring musicians and talents. You can’t go a block without listening to wonderful live music. Factor in the wine region and the impressive array of vineyard and vineyard tours available to you and I recommend you spend as much time here as you possibly can. You can see a lot of the city via tram tours. The public transport is great in the city and those old trams are very much a remnant of the British Empire days.
The Oval is a strange ground to watch; great if you’re in the sidelines, miles away if you end up behind the goals! But also take fleeces and waterproofs as the weather can be somewhat unpredictable and the lower parts of the stands are quite exposed. Again, it’s another playing surface with huge in-goal areas, and the pitch length itself is one of the longest in Test rugby, so us wingers earn our corn with all those extra steps!
For pre and post match, I’d suggest the The Rosey in Hindley Street, five minutes from the stadium, or the infamous Ramsgate Hotel, a real hotchpotch of sporting culture, from AFL to Union.
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Kick-off: 7:45 pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Match 7: Saturday, July 19: Australia v British and Irish Lions, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
And now we get to the meaty part – the first Test. Suncorp is another magnificent state of the art facility, designed by those brilliant people at Populous. Former Wallaby prop Al Baxter is the Senior Principal there and his knowledge of elite sport is very evident when you see stadiums as good as this.
I mentioned distance – well if you’re driving between Perth and Brisbane, it’s a three day effort minimum! Or a five to six hour flight! However, Suncorp Stadium isn’t nicknamed ‘The Cauldron’ without good reason so expect a battle royale when you get to Brissie.
It’s another multi sport affair, often home to the State of Origin game, where you see hits that might threaten the structure itself, that’s how brutal that game can be. But it’s also hosted FIFA Women’s Football World Cup games, so is a wonderful surface to play running, fast footy on.
Brisbane can be warm and humid, even in July, but you might also see some thundery rain around so take a waterproof, even if you spend the rest of the time in shorts and tee shirts.
For the afterparty, stroll down Caxton Street; it’ll be rugby central and is right by the venue. I was there for the Rugby Championship match v the Springboks and it was a sea of green. I might have been in Cape Town, such was the support!
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
British & Irish Lions suffer setback as ‘explosive prop’ forced to withdraw from Australia tour
Match 8: Tuesday, July 22: First Nations and Pasifika XV v British and Irish Lions, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
This was once known as the Docklands Stadium and is the other side of Melbourne compared to the other venues you’ll visit. Plan travel ahead, but there’s buses and trains readily available. It’s a massive arena, made predominantly for AFL and the design was quite innovative for the time. It was the first Australian rules football stadium built with a retractable roof, which throughout its history has usually been closed for night matches and for wet weather day matches; the roof closure policy for dry weather day matches has varied. It was the first stadium in Australia to have movable seating. All four level-one tiers of the stadium can be moved up to 18 metres forward into a rectangular configuration but it’s rarely used as I believe you lose a load of corner seats in that configuration.
It’s also used often for rock shows, so there’s a load of facilities nearby to enjoy your refreshments. I’d recommend the Woolshed Bar or Platform 28, both within a short walk of the Marvel. If you struggle for a ticket, there’s always the big screen in The Horizon Room to watch the match too.
Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
Match 9: Saturday, July 26: Australia v British and Irish Lions, MCG Stadium, Melbourne
The second Test is played at one of Australia’s most significant sporting cultural icons, the amazing MCG.
The first thing I’ll tell you is until you go there, you simply won’t believe how big it is. They’ve got 110,000 in when Ed Sheeran performed there a couple of years ago, but for Test footy, the capacity will be around 103,000, still an enormous number!
However size isn’t everything it’s made out to be. I remember playing there and you felt disconnected from the crowd as they are, at points around the ground, some 50m from the touchline itself, but given the expected attendance, I expect the fans to make their voices heard!
The MCG itself is worth visiting either side of the game; the Melbourne Cricket Club, (known to all as The Other MCC!) is as iconic in Australia as its namesake is in English Cricket and the amazing Australian Sports Museum features memorabilia and sights from the very first Test cricket match played here together with much more from all parts of the Australian sport landscape.
It’s situated in a park just outside the CBD of Melbourne and I can heartily recommend the bars around the ‘Riverland’ area – The Riverland Bar itself is a place that really rocks on match day and if you want a high level view of the city, the Good Heavens Bar offers a sensational overview of Melbourne.
Venue: MCG Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Match 10: Saturday, August 2: Australia v British and Irish Lions, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The final match of the tour and we return to Sydney to the former Stadium Australia, a perfect venue for any field sport, but built primarily around the two main rugby codes.
Nerds note, the Stadium was opened by a performance by the Bee Gees back around the time of the Millennium and it continues to host great live gigs.
It’s a fair way further out than the SCG, over in Olympic Park but there’s loads of public transport options to get you to and fro. There’s a number of bars and food outlets around the ground, but I’d recommend that you head back into Paddington for the post match.
Again, check out the Light Brigade, a favoured watering hole during the Rugby Championship, and also The Oaks Hotel, both cracking venues to celebrate a win or to console a loss. Worth checking out the Aussie Disney (Fox) Studios, but that facility has moved from next to the SCG to Moore Park, a bus or cab ride away. And I cannot recommend a trip around the Cricket Ground highly enough – it’s the place of Bradman, Bodyline and Ashes series galore, a real must do for all sports fans.
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/british-irish-lions-david-campeses-venue-guide-including-the-places-to-go-whilst-in-australia-part-two
