Beirne Honoured As Lions Celebrate First Series Win In 12 Years
Despite the 2025 tour ending on a losing note, it was an unforgettable campaign for Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions as they won eight matches Down Under and claimed a hard-fought 2-1 series win over Australia.
It was a bittersweet finish for the Lions in Sydney where the Wallabies won the third Test on a 22-12 scoreline, before tour captain Maro Itoje lifted the Lions Series Trophy following their first series triumph in 12 years.
Twelve Ireland players were involved in the 2025 series, including Hugo Keenan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, and Jack Conan, who were all ever-present as starters across the three Tests.
Keenan had one of the moments of his career with his series-clinching try in Melbourne, while Sheehan touched down twice during the series, and Furlong equalled Welsh great Alun Wyn Jones‘ nine consecutive Test starts for the Lions – a record in the professional era.
The player-of-the-match in the opening Test, and a try scorer in the second encounter, Beirne lined out at blindside flanker and in the second row. Having played every minute of the series, the Kildare man was a very deserving winner of the Player of the Series honour.
Speaking after receiving the Tom Richards medal, Beirne said: “It’s a massive honour but more about the series win for me.
“It is a bittersweet moment. It’s a class moment that we’ve won the series, but we’ve lost tonight. But as ‘Faz’ said, we’ll get over it because we’ve won the series.
“I was unsure whether Faz was going to pick me, so when you see your name on the board, I knew it was an opportunity for me.
“But if I didn’t play well he would take me out just as quick as he put me in. I needed to step up, as did all of the players, and we did that.”