Strong South African connection in 2025 British & Irish Lions squad captained by Maro Itoje

Former Junior Springboks Pierre Schoeman (prop) and Duhan van der Merwe (wing), who both play for Scotland, have been included in the 38-man British & Irish Lions touring squad to Australia.

The squad, which will meet the Wallabies for three Tests and play a one-off Test against Argentina, will be captained by England and Saracens lock Maro Itoje.

It will be Itoje’s third Lions tour, following his selection in 2017 to New Zealand and in 2021 to South Africa.

It’s Van der Merwe’s second tour as a Lion. He was in the 2021 squad in South Africa, which played behind closed doors due to the Covid pandemic.

Schoeman, from Pretoria, and Van Der Merwe, who hails from George, played for the Junior Boks in 2014 before their careers took them to the Northern Hemisphere and Scotland.

Schoeman, a former SA Schools captain, also represented the Bulls at all levels from under-16, and he and Van der Merwe played in the 2014 World Rugby U20 Championship in New Zealand.

Schoeman moved to Glasgow in 2018 and qualified to play for Scotland after getting residency in 2021.

Van der Merwe qualified through residency in 2020, after joining Edinburgh in 2017.

There is another loose South African connection in the 2025 touring party with Scotland centre Huw Jones named for his maiden Lions tour.

Jones visited South Africa in his gap year in 2013 and played rugby for False Bay Rugby Club before turning out for the University of Cape Town’s Ikey Tigers in the 2014 Varsity Cup.

UCT won the tournament that year (a feat they finally repeated in 2025), with Jones scoring a try in the 2014 final.

He went on to play for the Stormers, making 24 appearances over two seasons in Super Rugby in 2015 and 2016 before returning north and establishing himself in the Scotland midfield.

There are further Southern Hemisphere connections in the squad with the selection of the New Zealand-born Ireland trio of Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Bundee Aki.

Australian-born Mack Hansen, who also plays for Ireland, and Australian-born Scotland centre Sione Tuipulotu were also included. Tuipulotu represented Australia U20s between 2015-17, but his maternal grandmother is Scottish. Hansen represented Australia U20s in 2018, but qualified for Ireland through his Cork-born mother.

Itoje leads

The 30-year-old Itoje joins English legends such as Martin Johnson and Bill Beaumont to be named as Lions touring captain.

Itoje, whose parents are Nigerian, is also the first black player to lead the famous touring party in its 137-year history, which started with a tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1888.

Itoje was elevated to England captain at the start of the year and led the team to four consecutive wins in the Six Nations.

Ireland captain Caelan Doris was the favourite to lead the 2025 Lions. However, a shoulder injury sustained while playing for Leinster during last weekend’s Champions Cup semifinal ruled him out of selection.

“I will do my best to do the role justice,” said Itoje. “I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead, it’s going to be a great tour.

“I know the appetite amongst the players is extremely high; everyone is hungry to be a Lion, and I can’t wait to play my role.”

Itoje was told of the decision on Tuesday, although the phone call to pass on the good news was shambolic, according to coach Andy Farrell.

Itoje did not recognise Farrell’s Irish phone number and answered suspiciously. He then recognised Farrell’s voice, but a bad signal meant that Farrell had to disconnect in mid-conversation and dial back.

“I want to congratulate Maro on being named captain of the British & Irish Lions,” said Farrell.

“This is a great honour for Maro, his family and everyone who has supported him throughout his career from Saracens to England — and on to the Lions in 2017 and 2021.

“As a two-time tourist, Maro fully understands what the Lions is all about and also the role of the captain in helping the group achieve its goal of winning a Test series this summer.” DM

Squad

Forwards

Tadhg Beirne (Ireland/Munster)
Ollie Chessum (England/Leicester)
Jack Conan (Ireland/Leinster)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (England/Sale)
Scott Cummings (Scotland/Glasgow)
Tom Curry (England/Sale)
Ben Earl (England/Saracens)
Zander Fagerson (Scotland/Glasgow)
Tadhg Furlong (Ireland/Leinster)
Ellis Genge (England/Bristol)
Maro Itoje (England/Saracens, captain)
Rónan Kelleher (Ireland/Leinster)
Joe McCarthy (Ireland/Leinster)
Jac Morgan (Wales/Ospreys)
Henry Pollock (England/Northampton)
Andrew Porter (Ireland/Leinster)
James Ryan (Ireland/Leinster)
Pierre Schoeman (Scotland/Edinburgh)
Dan Sheehan (Ireland/Leinster)
Will Stuart (England/Bath)

Backs

Bundee Aki (Ireland/Connacht)
Elliot Daly (England/Saracens)
Tommy Freeman (England/Northampton)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland/Leinster)
Mack Hansen (Ireland/Connacht)
Huw Jones (Scotland/Glasgow)
Hugo Keenan (Ireland/Leinster)
Blair Kinghorn (Scotland/Toulouse)
James Lowe (Ireland/Leinster)
Alex Mitchell (England/Northampton)
Garry Ringrose (Ireland/Leinster)
Finn Russell (Scotland/Bath)
Fin Smith (England/Northampton)
Marcus Smith (England/Harlequins)
Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland/Glasgow)
Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland/Edinburgh)
Tomos Williams (Wales/Gloucester)

Touring schedule