NZ Rugby & British and Irish Lions weigh 2029 Test match in US

By Charles Richardson of Daily Telegraph UK

The British and Irish Lions and New Zealand Rugby are exploring staging a match in the United States as part of the 2029 tour, with Las Vegas a possible destination.

It is a long-standing tradition for the famous invitational side, who tour Australia next year, to play matches in a country other than the host nation, but a match in the US would be a historic first for the Lions.

Alongside Las Vegas, famous for its strip and casinos, Chicago and Los Angeles have been touted as possible destinations with the US hosting the World Cup two years later, in 2031.

Next year, before departing for Australia, the Lions will face Argentina in Dublin in a repeat of the match that took place before the ill-fated 2005 tour to New Zealand, although that edition took place in Cardiff.

In 2013, en route to Australia, the Lions faced the Barbarians in Hong Kong and it is understood the purpose of any potential US fixture in 2029 would be similar, breaking up a long journey in a sensible geographic location rather than relocating one of the three tests against the All Blacks.

“It would meet the Lions’ requirements from a performance point of view,” a source said. “There have been conversations around Vegas, Chicago and LA.

“We have talked about one game potentially outside of New Zealand. The tour will be different, but we’re not sure how much yet. We think there’s an opportunity to do something in another market on the way down to New Zealand. But it is five years away.”

Telegraph Sport understands, too, that although the location and destinations of Lions tours are constantly under assessment, there are no plans to take a full tour away from the three traditional host countries: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

New Zealand are the trailblazers in hosting matches in the US. Their first loss to Ireland, in 2016, took place at Chicago’s Soldier Field and this year the All Blacks defeated Fiji in San Diego. Next year, an Irish rematch is also expected in Chicago.

Should Las Vegas be selected as a destination for a fixture, Sin City will already have had experience of hosting oval-ball matches. In March, the NRL began its inaugural Rugby League Las Vegas event, which had two fixtures take place at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada on the opening round of the season.

That initiative is contracted until 2028, with Super League mirroring the concept and hosting Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves there in March.

The Lions participating in matches away from its traditional triumvirate is by no means a new concept. A Combined British side took on Argentina in a one-off test in 1910, with a full tour of that country following in 1927, under the Lions name.

Other destinations for Lions matches include Nairobi and Paris and, while the US has no experience of the Lions behemoth, neighbouring Canada hosted a test in Toronto in 1966.

Telegraph Sport approached the Lions for comment.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission