All you need to know: 2017 British and Irish Lions tour

Alex McLeod runs through all you need to know you need to know ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour that kicks off this weekend.

Saturday 3 June - Saturday 8 July

The British and Irish Lions landed in New Zealand on Wednesday to launch their 12th tour to the country in what will be their first visit here since 2005.

The side will be coached and captained by Welsh duo Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton, both of whom will be in their respective roles for a second consecutive tour following their successful mission in Australia four years ago.

Gatland will be assisted by Rob Howley (attack coach), Steve Borthwick (forwards coach), Andy Farrell (defence coach), Neil Jenkins (kicking coach), and Graham Rowntree (scrum coach).

The Lions will be aiming for just their second series victory over the All Blacks in their history, with their only successful tour here coming in 1971, when the John Dawes-led side clinching the series 2-1.

Warren Gatland (left) and Sam Warburton will coach and captain the Lions in their second consecutive tour. Photo / Photosport.

They will also be aiming to make amends for the horror show that was their tour on these shores in 2005.

A Sir Clive Woodward-coached outfit was torn apart by the All Blacks, with Dan Carter in particular standing out in the second test in Wellington, as the over-sized and out-dated Lions squad got demolished in a 3-0 whitewash.

Should the Lions build on their victorious 2013 tour of Australia with a series win in New Zealand, it will be their first back-to-back series victory since 1974, where they defeated South Africa 3-0, three years after their successful tour to New Zealand.

Gatland and Warburton would also become the first captain and coach to win consecutive Lions test series should they clinch the series by July 8.

Squad

The initial squad for the tour was announced on April 19 in London, and consisted of 41 players from England (16 players), Wales (12), Ireland (11) and Scotland (two).

Three New Zealand-born players were named in the squad, with Irish utility back Jared Payne (Tauranga), English midfielder Ben Te'o (Auckland) and English prop Mako Vunipola (Wellington) all moving to the United Kingdom at various stages of their life.

Since the announcement of the squad, however, two players have dropped out for contrasting reasons.

The first of these omissions was English halfback Ben Youngs, who withdrew from the squad on May 6 for personal reasons following the news that his sister-in-law, the wife of his brother and former England and Lions star Tom Youngs, is fighting terminal cancer.

The second withdrawal from the squad was England number eight Billy Vunipola on May 21 after suffering a shoulder injury while playing for his club side Saracens.

The Lions squad prepare to board their flight to New Zealand at Heathrow Airport, London. Photo / Dan Sheridan.

Both players were replaced by Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw, and England loose forward James Haskell.

Both the All Blacks and Maori All Blacks will announce their squads for the series on June 8.

British and Irish Lions squad:

Backs: Dan Biggar (Wales), Elliot Daly (England), Jonathan Davies (Wales), Owen Farrell (England), Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Robbie Henshaw (Ireland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Jonathan Joseph (England), Greig Laidlaw (Scotland), Conor Murray (Ireland), George North (Wales), Jack Nowell (England), Jared Payne (Ireland), Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), Tommy Seymour (Scotland), Ben Te'o (England), Anthony Watson (England), Rhys Webb (Wales), Liam Williams (Wales).

Forwards: Rory Best (Ireland), Dan Cole (England), Taulupe Faletau (Wales), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Jamie George (England), James Haskell (England), Iain Henderson (Ireland), Maro Itoje (England), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), George Kruis (England), Courtney Lawes (England), Joe Marler (England), Jack McGrath (Ireland), Ross Moriarty (Wales), Sean O'Brien (Ireland), Peter O'Mahony (Ireland), Ken Owens (Wales), Kyle Sinckler (England), CJ Stander (Ireland), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Mako Vunipola (England), Sam Warburton (Wales, captain).

Itinerary

Whangarei will play host to the opening match of the 2017 tour, as the Lions will face a New Zealand Provincial Barbarians side tonight at Toll Stadium.

The Barbarians squad, captained by Otago hooker Sam Anderson-Heather, is made up of Mitre 10 Cup and fringe Super Rugby players from throughout New Zealand.

Each Mitre 10 Cup province is represented with at least one player, while the Heartland Championship is represented by a sole candidate in 35-year-old Wanganui stalwart Peter Rowe.

The Lions will then travel down to Auckland, where they will face the Blues in their first-ever clash against a New Zealand Super Rugby side next Wednesday at Eden Park.

That match is followed by a two-match trip to the South Island, with the Crusaders and Highlanders given the opportunity to claim what would be a famous victory in their debut appearances against the Lions in Christchurch and Dunedin.

The tourists then return to the North Island to face what will be regarded as their biggest challenge outside of the three All Blacks tests, as they will be pitted against the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on June 17.

The Brits and Irishmen will be wary not to take the Maori side - which will be likely to be stacked with various fringe All Blacks - lightly, as the hosts scored a famous 19-13 upset victory when the two sides last played each other in 2005.

The Maori All Blacks defeated the British and Irish Lions the last time the two teams met in 2005. Photo / Photosport.

A clash against the Chiefs in Hamilton three days later will be the final warm-up match for the Lions before the first test against the All Blacks at Eden Park on June 24.

That match will be followed by a two-match tour of Wellington, where the Hurricanes will be the visitors' final non-test opponent on June 27, four days before the second test match of the series at Westpac Stadium.

The tour climaxes at Eden Park on July 8, where the third and final test match will take place to conclude the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

British and Irish Lions schedule:

v New Zealand Provincial Barbarians at Toll Stadium, Whangarei on June 3
v Blues at Eden Park, Auckland on June 7
v Crusaders at AMI Stadium, Christchurch on June 10
v Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin on June 13
v Maori All Blacks at Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua on June 17
v Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton on June 20
v All Blacks at Eden Park, Auckland on June 24
v Hurricanes at Westpac Stadium, Wellington on June 27
v All Blacks at Westpac Stadium, Wellington on July 1
v All Blacks at Eden Park, Auckland on July 8

Odds:

The British and Irish Lions head into the tour as underdogs against the All Blacks, with the TAB paying $1.16 for a New Zealand series victory, as opposed to $4.50 for the Lions.

An All Blacks clean sweep is being regarded as the most likely way in which the All Blacks will come out victorious, with $1.75 odds for a 3-0 whitewash, while a 2-1 series win is paying $2.70.

On the other hand, a 2-1 Lions series win is paying $6, while an unlikely hat-trick of wins for the Lions over the All Blacks is paying $26.

Despite being labelled as the underdog in the test series, the Lions are listed as comfortable favourites to take out all of the non-test encounters on the tour by the TAB.

Other test series during the tour

Australia v Fiji, Scotland and Italy at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, June 10-24
South Africa v France at Pretoria, Durban and Johannesburg, June 10-24
Argentina v England and Georgia at San Juan, Santa Fe and Jujuy, June 10-24
Japan v Romania and Ireland at Kumamoto, Shizuoka and Tokyo, June 10-24
Italy v Scotland at Singapore, June 10
Fiji v Australia, Italy and Scotland at Melbourne and Suva, June 10-24
Samoa v New Zealand and Wales at Auckland and Apia, June 16-23
Tonga v Wales at Auckland, June 16
South Africa A v French Barbarians at Durban and Soweto, June 16-23
USA v Ireland and Georgia at Harrison and Kennesaw, June 10-17
Canada v Georgia and Romania at Calgary and Edmonton, June 10-17
Brazil v Portugal, Chile and Romania at Sao Paulo and Bucharest, June 10-24
Pacific Nations Cup at Nuku'alofa and Apia, July 1-15
USA v Canada RWC qualifiers at Hamilton and San Diego, June 24-July 1
World Rugby Nations Cup at Montevideo, June 10-18