British and Irish Lions announce 2017 New Zealand tour schedule

The British and Irish Lions will play two Tests in Auckland on their 10-match tour of New Zealand in 2017.
Eden Park will host the first and third Tests, while Wellington's Westpac Stadium will stage the second Test.

The Lions - who have not won a series against the All Blacks since 1971 - will face all of their hosts' Super Rugby teams and New Zealand Maori.

The five-week trip will begin with a match against a provincial side in Whangarei on 3 June 2017.

The Lions have lost four successive Test series against New Zealand since John Dawes captained them to a 2-1 victory there 44 years ago.
That sequence includes a 3-0 whitewash under the direction of World Cup-winning England coach Sir Clive Woodward on their last visit 10 years ago.

But the Lions will head for New Zealand having ended a 16-year wait for a series victory with a 2-1 win in Australia in 2013.

The three-Test series starts in Auckland's 50,000-capacity Eden Park on 24 June.
The Lions and All Blacks will then meet at Wellington's 34,500-capacity Westpac Stadium seven days later before returning to Eden Park on 8 July.
Six games are scheduled before the first Test, including matches against Super Rugby teams the Blues, Crusaders, Highlanders and Chiefs.

All midweek fixtures will take place on a Tuesday apart from the match against the Blues, which takes place on Wednesday, 7 June.

2017 British and Irish Lions tour fixtures:

3 June - Provincial union team (Toll Stadium, Whangarei)

7 June - Blues (Eden Park, Auckland)

10 June - Crusaders (AMI Stadium, Christchurch)

13 June - Highlanders (Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin)

17 June - Maori (International Stadium, Rotorua)

20 June - Chiefs (Waikato Stadium, Hamilton)

24 June - New Zealand (First Test, Eden Park, Auckland)

27 June - Hurricanes (Westpac Stadium, Wellington)

1 July - New Zealand (Second Test, Westpac Stadium, Wellington)

8 July - New Zealand (Third Test, Eden Park, Auckland).