With the dust settling on the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, we pick out the top three players for Andy Farrell’s men over the course of the series as they successfully backed up their 2013 heroics by downing the Wallabies 2-1 yet again.
Honourable mentions: Ellis Genge, Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Dan Sheehan
Genge’s showing at loosehead were formidable all tour, but it was his performances in the Tests itself that earn him an honorable mention. One of the squad’s most inspiring figures in the changeroom, the “Baby Rhino” deserves to leave Aussie soil with his head up high.
Farrell was jettisoned in as injury cover for Elliot Daly and was a colossal figure for the squad as they went on to down the Aussies, putting to bed the nepotism claims from some quarters of the media and becoming the first Lion of the professional era to win two series.
This was surely the tour that cemented Itoje as a Lions great, having already toured New Zealand in 2017 and being named Player of the Series against the Springboks in 2021. The skipper’s Man of the Match knock in the second Test went a long way to helping clinch the series.
The best hooker in the game right now. Despite missing much of Leinster’s season through injury, Sheehan was locked and loaded for the Lions and translated his uncanny try-scoring ability to the famous red jersey.
Bronze medal: Finn Russell
Named title sponsor, Howden’s, Player of the Series, Russell played a pivotal role in the Tests, starting all three games at flyhalf and forming a deadly halfback combination with the equally excellent Jamison Gibson-Park.
There was plenty of speculation prior to the series about whether the 32-year-old Scotland international would receive the full backing of Farrell given the Ireland boss’s penchant for playmakers less akin to the likes of Russell, but the Englishman was won over during the course of the campaign, much to the delight of Brave Hearts supporters.
With Marcus Smith viewed as more of a versatile back-up option and young Fin Smith failing to truly grab his chance against Argentina, the Waratahs or AUNZ XV, the experienced Russell was always going to be the man to lead the way at No 10 in the Test series with his game-shaping displays against the Wallabies in the first two games helping seal the series with one game to go.
Silver medal: Tom Curry
There may have been more consistent performers for the Lions in the pre-Test matches, but Curry’s performances in the internationals proper were good enough even to elevate him above the rest on this list.
Farrell copped a lot of flak for including the Englishman at openside at the expense of the likes of Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier, but as is the case with all Test Match Animals, Curry came alive when he saw those gold jerseys in front of him and produced a number of game-shaping moments, scoring tries in Tests 1 and 2 and putting in a massive hit on Joseph Suaalii in the second Test that, in hindsight, arguably won the game for the tourists.
Gold medal: Tadhg Beirne
Also named official Player of the Series, Ireland’s Beirne was simply next level across the three Tests in all facets of play despite also having a so-so tour up til that point. The lock-cum-blindsider ended up making as many as 51-tackles against the Wallabies to average a whopping 17 a game, while he also scored a crucial try heading into the third quarter of a difficult second Test.
The truth is that Beirne puts on performances like this weekly in the red of Munster and green of Ireland without always getting the recognition he deserves outside of his home fan bases, but the 33-year-old’s showings Down Under over the past month will rightly be lauded by all for many years to come.
