Test run-in starts as Lions kickstart journey on Fury Road against Western Force

Five matches in 15 days across 5,700km makes Saturday’s opener in Perth more significant than it might first appear.

Jack Conan, Will Stuart, Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Pierre Schoeman. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho

And so begins a tour-shaping fortnight for the British and Irish Lions in Australia. 

Starting with the Western Force this weekend they will be playing five matches inside 15 days and covering 5,700km across five different states and territories. By the time they relocate from Adelaide back to Brisbane for the first Test they will have crisscrossed the outback more often than Mad Max in his heyday.