2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand

In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Maori team, and three test matches against New Zealand (the All Blacks). The Lions lost the test series 3-0, the first time in 22 years that they lost every test match on tour.

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
The logo of the 2005 Lions tour
Date	23 May – 9 July
Coach(es)	Clive Woodward
Tour captain(s)	Brian O'Driscoll Gareth Thomas
Test series winners	New Zealand (3–0)
Top test point scorer(s)	Stephen Jones (14)
← Australia 2001 South Africa 2009 →

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
Summary	P W D L
Total	11 07 00 04
Test match	03 00 00 03
Opponent	P W D L
New Zealand	3 0 0 3

The team was managed by former England and Lions player Bill Beaumont, coached by former England coach Sir Clive Woodward, and originally captained by Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll. O'Driscoll suffered a controversial tour-ending injury two minutes into the first test, and Wales captain Gareth Thomas took over as captain for the final four games of the tour.

The poor test results of the 2005 Lions, despite having one of the most experienced playing squads and the largest management team of any Lions tour, led to criticism of Woodward, particularly his selection policy, and prompted commentators to question the future of the Lions.[1]

This tour followed the Lions' 2001 tour to Australia and preceded the 2009 tour to South Africa.