Cardiff to host first Lions women’s match against France
Cardiff will host the first match played by a British & Irish Lions women’s team when the Lions face France at Principality Stadium on Friday 27 August 2027. The Howden Lions Women’s Cup will kick off at 7.30pm before the team travels to New Zealand for its inaugural tour. It is a new women’s fixture, not the first occasion on which any Lions team has played in Cardiff.
Cardiff fixture and tickets
- Match date
- 27 August 2027
- Kick-off
- 7.30pm
- Adult tickets
- From £20
- Children’s tickets
- From £10
- Scheduled ticket sale
- 14 October, 5pm
Tickets and the team
The Lions’ announcement schedules ticket sales for 5pm on Wednesday 14 October. Advertised starting prices are £20 for adults and £10 for children, with a group offer for purchases of ten or more adult tickets. Head coach Jo Yapp described France as the challenge her team needed before New Zealand. The announcement does not name a squad or confirm which Welsh players will take part.
Before the New Zealand tour
The New Zealand programme begins against a Black Ferns XV in Whangārei on 4 September 2027. The first Test against the Black Ferns follows in Auckland on 11 September. An Invitational XV match in Hamilton on 14 September separates the opening Test from the second in Wellington on 18 September. The tour ends with the third Test in Christchurch on 25 September. The Cardiff game therefore gives the new team a home fixture before a five-match overseas programme, including three Tests.
Background and supporting figures
Where this sits
Cardiff hosts the women’s team’s first match, not the first ever Lions game in Cardiff.
The Cardiff fixture precedes five New Zealand games, three of them Tests, on the official programme.