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Tom Richards Cup

Tom Richards Cup

Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	2001; 23 years ago (2001)[1]
Number of teams	2
Country	Australia  British and Irish Lions
Holders	British and Irish Lions[1] (2013)
Most titles	Australia  British and Irish Lions (1 title)

The Tom Richards Cup, also known as the Tom Richards Trophy, is an international rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of British & Irish Lions vs. Australia test series. It was commissioned for the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour series and the inaugural winner was Australia, who won the series 2–1.^[1] This was the first time that Australia had managed to defeat the Lions in a series. Twelve years later, the Lions won the 2013 tourtoAustralia 1–2,^[2] making them the current holders of the trophy. The two teams' first meeting was in Australia in 1899 where they played a four test series, won by the Lions 3–1.^[3]

Tom Richards is the only Australian-born player to have represented both the Wallabies and Lions.^[1] However, Blair Swannell, born in England, also represented the Lions (1899 & 1904) and Australia (1905). Richards took part in the Gallipoli campaign and for his efforts in France was awarded the Military Cross. In 1908 Richards played in the first Wallaby team to tour Britain and won the gold medal at the 1908 Olympic Games. In 1910 he represented the Lions as a replacement on their tour to South Africa whilst living in the country. In 1912 he was selected for the Wallaby tour to the United States and Canada.

As per convention, the next Lions tourtoAustralia is scheduled for 2025 following the tours of New Zealand (2017) and South Africa (2021).^[4]

Date and time		Venue	Home	Score	Away	Trophy winner
2025
To be determined
2013
6 July	20:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	16–41	British and Irish Lions
29 June	20:05 AEST (UTC+10)	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne		16–15
7 June	20:05 AEST (UTC+10)	Lang Park, Brisbane		21–23
2001
14 July	19:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	29–23	British and Irish Lions
7 July	19:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne		35–14
30 June	19:00 AEST (UTC+10)	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane		13–29

• History of rugby union matches between Australia and the British & Irish Lions