Nike returns to British and Irish Lions shirt for first time since 1993 Sport Business Nike will produce the British and Irish Lions shirt for the first time in over 30 years after agreeing a partnership with the touring rugby side. The brand will be the official kit provider of the Lions, and will make the kit for the inaugural Lions Women’s Team tour to New Zealand in 2027. The [...]
R360 launch delayed until 2028 after unions threaten players with bans Sport Business R360 chiefs insist they remain “absolutely determined to bring it to life at full scale and with maximum global impact” after delaying the launch of the rugby franchise league until 2028. Organisers and investors including City grandee Martin Gilbert and former England international Mike Tindall had intended to start the globetrotting competition in 2026 but [...]
British Lions vows to ban players who defect to R360 rugby breakaway Sport Business British and Irish Lions chiefs have landed another blow on R360’s plans by warning they will not pick any player who signs up for the planned rugby franchise league. It follows England, Ireland, New Zealand and five other leading unions adopting the same stance last month and comes less than a year before R360’s proposed [...]
England Ashes fans set to top up Australia’s coffers months after bumper British and Irish Lions tour November 18, 2025 England’s Ashes trip Down Under is set to help hosts Australia rake in £250m as British tourists prepare to top up Green and Gold coffers twice in one year. Five Tests in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney starting on Friday are expected to draw 40,000 fans to Australia and contribute millions to both Cricket [...]
Women’s sport participation numbers surge, Royal London state October 2, 2025 Participation numbers in women’s sport are soaring as global success inspires the next generation of athletes. More women are playing football, rugby, netball, hockey and cricket than in 2023 with big moments in women’s sport cited as key factors in getting people active. The findings, from Royal London, come a week after England’s Red Roses [...]
Maro Itoje eyes politics: ‘Opportunity to effect real change is attractive’ September 23, 2025 England, Saracens and British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has talked up his interest in a career in politics when he hangs up his rugby boots. Itoje, 30, discussed his post-playing ambitions in an appearance on the Rest Is Politics podcast with Westminster veterans Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. “It’s something that is of [...]
TNT Sports wins race for British and Irish Lions documentary September 16, 2025 TNT Sports has bought the rights to an exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary of the British and Irish Lions’ Test series victory in Australia this summer. The 90-minute documentary is currently in production and is scheduled to be screened on TNT at the end of October, to tie in with its coverage of the Autumn Internationals the [...]
British and Irish Lions tour clears £30m Rugby Australia debt September 2, 2025 Revenue generated by the British and Irish Lions rugby tour to Australia has helped the hosts to be debt-free for the first time since 2021. The nine-match, three-Test tour Down Under allowed Rugby Australia to pay off the £30m it owed Pacific Equity Partners having taken out a £39m loan in 2023. It is the [...]
Australia put on British and Irish Lions tour of a lifetime August 8, 2025 Before leaving a rainy Sydney to return to (a sunny!) Blighty, I sat down with fellow rugby fans in a Darling Harbour bistro to dissect a British and Irish Lions tour which, by all accounts, blew everyone away. It is fair to say that I was within the group of those who had questions as [...]
London Spirit: Tech titans strike Nike kit deal in Hundred first July 30, 2025 London Spirit’s new part-owners, Silicon Valley-based consortium Cricket Investor Holdings, have agreed a kit deal with Nike for the Hundred franchise which will begin next year. The Nike deal is the first bespoke commercial contract secured by one of the Hundred teams, as sponsorship deals have previously been sold centrally by the England and Wales [...]