British & Irish Lions Tour: Rugby’s Last Great Hope in Victoria?
- Mark Woods
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
With the Melbourne Rebels gone from Super Rugby Pacific, the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour could be Rugby Union’s best chance to regain interest in Victoria.
Rugby fans will once again look to Melbourne as two Lions games are set to take place in the city, first against a First Nations & Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday, July 22, then the blockbuster clash with the Wallabies at the MCG on Saturday, July 26.
Bear in mind, the initial plan was for the Lions to face off against the Rebels at Marvel Stadium.
With the Rebels' demise, it was unclear if the Lions' Marvel Stadium fixture would remain but it has since been announced that they will play against a First Nations & Pasifika XV in what will be a monumental moment for Rugby Union in Australia.
These matches come at a crucial time, with the Rebels having played their final game on June 8, 2024, and since then, Rugby Union has barely had a footprint in Victoria.
Interestingly, just over a month later, the Wallabies beat Wales at AAMI Park on July 13, however, it is the Lions games that will show whether the sport still has a pulse in Melbourne.
The Rebels, long battling financial instability and struggling to grow a sustainable fan base, were ultimately dissolved - marking a sobering moment for the code in Victoria.
Despite the Rebels' demise, local clubs continue to nurture talent but without a clear elite pathway in their home state, the next generation of Victorian talent may be forced to look interstate or even to rival codes to chase their dreams.
Looking back at the Australian national team's test match history in Melbourne, the first came in 1958 with a loss to NZ Maori (not to be confused with the New Zealand national team).
The Australian national team would visit Melbourne only one more time before the 1990s, a decade which saw the Wallabies play in the city three times, including two blockbusters against New Zealand at the MCG in 1997 and 1998.
The 2000s saw annual games played in Melbourne at what is now known as Marvel Stadium, with South Africa being the first to visit the then Colonial Stadium.
Many would say the 2000s may have been the pinnacle of the sport in Victoria, interest was high because they were regularly playing high quality matches in the state.
Between 2000 and 2009 there were 11 international test matches featuring Australia played in Melbourne, the same number of tests played since 2010.
However, with this number the drop off was between 2010 and 2019, since 2021 there seems to be a renewed commitment to giving Melbourne an annual Wallabies test match.
Rugby Australia would be hoping the MCG crowd can top 80,000, with questions on if this upcoming British & Irish Lions test match can beat the 83,944 crowd that saw New Zealand defeat Australia in a 2023 Bledisloe Cup match at the same venue.
Melbourne has always shown up for major sporting events from State of Origin to the Grand Prix and Rugby Union is banking on that same event-day magic to reignite its place in the Victorian landscape.
It's easy to forget the last time the British & Irish Lions played in Melbourne was in 2013, drawing 56,771 at the then Etihad Stadium.
In addition to the British & Irish Lions tour, Melbourne is set to host matches in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, although the venue has yet to be announced.
These games will likely draw solid crowds and could prove there's still a heartbeat for the sport in Victoria and perhaps even a desire for Melbourne to once again have a team of its own.
But in a sporting landscape already packed with ten AFL clubs, a thriving Melbourne Storm in the NRL and three A-League teams battling for attention, the odds aren’t in Rugby Union’s favour.
If even the World Cup and Lions tour can’t pack the stands, it may be the clearest message yet: Rugby Union, for all its legacy and ambition, might simply not belong in Victoria but to many, the Wallabies will always have a home in Melbourne.
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