CARDIFF — The British and Irish Lions will make history when their women's team play for the first time against France at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Friday, 27 August (19:30 BST) ahead of the 2027 tour to New Zealand. Head coach Jo Yapp, who played at three World Cups with England, will lead the side against the world's fourth-ranked French outfit in the Welsh capital before a five-match tour featuring three Tests against the Black Ferns.
"There are moments in sport that only come around once - and this is one of them," Yapp said. "For our British and Irish Lions Women's team to step on to the field for the first time, on home soil and in front of our fans, is going to be incredibly special." Carol Isherwood, chair of the Lions women's committee who captained Great Britain in 1986, added: "It will be a tremendous rugby match and occasion," saying it is "a chance to grow the game and leave a legacy so that we are able to continue with the Lions team by setting the foundations and give everybody the chance to see the women's game at its very best."
The fixture will be only the second time the Lions have faced France after the men's side won a friendly in Paris in 1989, and it arrives against formidable opposition. France were semi-finalists at the 2025 World Cup, have finished runners-up to England in the last seven Six Nations championships, and beat Australia and Canada in home fixtures in the WXV Global Series last month, including victory over World Cup runners-up Canada. Men's Lions sides have struggled on home soil, drawing with Argentina in Cardiff in 2005 and losing to the Pumas in Dublin last year.
"We're bringing the best of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales players together and you've got a really tough job to unify them very quickly and get them on the same page," Isherwood said. "It's like bringing the Harlem Globetrotters together, but you've had no time and they'll all come from different systems." She said the Welsh Rugby Union felt they could do a great job hosting, citing the fantastic stadium, support for rugby and tradition of important women's moments in Wales, and hopes for a sea of red under the roof after a record 21,186 watched Wales women face England at the Principality Stadium in the 2025 Six Nations. "The visibility allows girls across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to dream of pulling on that red shirt one day," she said.
The Lions' 2027 itinerary begins in Cardiff before heading to New Zealand for Tests in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The full schedule is: 27 August v France at Principality Stadium, Cardiff; 4 September v Black Ferns XV at Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei; 11 September first Test v Black Ferns at Go Media Stadium, Auckland; 14 September v Invitational XV at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton; 18 September second Test v Black Ferns at Sky Stadium, Wellington; 25 September third Test v Black Ferns at One NZ Stadium, Christchurch. Men's Lions tours featuring players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have taken place since 1888.