Sky set to show first women's Lions tour of New Zealand

Sky Sports is expected to show the first women's British & Irish Lions tour live from New Zealand next September.

Talks are advanced, with Sky lined up to add the women's series to its rugby portfolio and broadcast all five matches, according to The Guardian. A deal would keep a familiar home for Lions rugby on British television.

For anyone new to it, the Lions are a combined team drawn from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They tour every four years, and this is the first women's version. The opponents are the Black Ferns, New Zealand's national women's team and one of the great names in the sport.

The trip is scheduled for September 2027. It comprises three Tests, the full internationals that decide the series, plus two tour matches, making five fixtures in total.

It will begin in Whangārei on 4 September against a Black Ferns XV at Semenoff Stadium. The tour is officially titled the Howden British & Irish Lions Women's Series, with a further fixture listed for 10 September at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, according to Lions Rugby.

The women's Lions were launched in 2024 after a three-year feasibility study. New Zealand was confirmed that year as the first destination, with France also considered.

Former England captain Jo Yapp will lead the tour as the first women's Lions head coach. She got the role ahead of Red Roses coach John Mitchell. Yapp has been working part-time alongside her job as head of the RFU women's pathway and will go full-time with the Lions at the start of 2027.

Sky has shown the men's Lions live since the 1997 tour of South Africa. That link is also set to continue, with talks under way about extending the contract to the 2029 men's series in New Zealand.

For fans, this means continuity. The same broadcaster, the same red shirt, a new team at the centre of it. Five matches, three Tests, and a first chance to see what a women's Lions tour looks and sounds like.