It’s fair to say that the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia last year was a huge success for everyone involved.

For the Lions, it was a memorable tour on the pitch as it saw Andy Farrell’s side win their first test series since 2013. For Australia, it was a huge success off the pitch, as it has completely turned around Rugby Australia’s finances.

RA announced that they had an over AU$100 million (€ 61million) turnaround in profit, going from an AU$36.8million deficit in 2024 to an AU$70.6million surplus last year, mainly down to the success of the Lions tour.

Dylan Pietsch Australia
Dylan Pietsch of the Wallabies celebrates scoring a try. Pic: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

It’s put Rugby Australia in a much healthier position now than they were a couple of years ago, and with a home World Cup next year, they should be back in a financial stronghold to get back towards the top end of World Rugby.

And with the success of last summer’s tour, as well as the 1888 Cup game against Argentina in Dublin last year, the Lions are looking to expand their tour destinations.

The Telegraph are reporting that they have launched the ‘Beyond29 project’ as they look to potentially revamp the tour after the 2027 Women’s Tour and the 2029 Men’s Tour in New Zealand.

tadhg beirne ireland
Tadhg Beirne celebrates after the match. Pic: Billy Stickland/INPHO

They are also set to reach out to a consultancy firm to ‘ideate, validate and confirm the preferred operating model and approach for the period beyond 2029.’ The research that will be carried out is taking place with the idea to ‘evolve the current operating model to significantly increase revenue, margin and profit from each tour, to future-proof the business within the wider rugby union ecosystem.’

Likely destinations are France, the Americas (mainly Argentina) and even Japan. It wouldn’t be the first time the Lions would tour Argentina, having done so in 1910, 1927 and 1936, while they’ve played plenty of one-off fixtures against France and Japan as well.

A French tour will likely be very lucrative to the Lions, with French rugby in a boom period right now and with star players such as Antoine Dupont and Louie Bielle-Biarrey, it’s a no-brainer for the Lions to tour France.

Hugo Keenan
Hugo Keenan scoring the winning try in the Lions’ second Test against the Wallabies. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Meanwhile, Argentina has one of the best national teams going, and would’ve arguably offered more stiff opposition than Australia last year. With former Leinster star Felipe Contepomi at the helm, the Pumas have beaten the All Blacks and Springboks in recent years.

An Argentina tour could also open the door for the Lions to play in the USA, following on from Ireland’s previous games against the All Blacks in Chicago and this summer’s Springboks vs All Blacks game in Baltimore.

And while Japan have stagnated since hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup, they are still one of the best potential markets for the sport.