{
  "id": 14421985,
  "title": "British & Irish Lions Women to have Cardiff warmup against France before tour of New Zealand",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/british-irish-lions-women-to-have-cardiff-warmup-against-france",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-14T10:14:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/british-irish-lions-women-cardiff-101451704.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cardiff, Wales (AP) — The British & Irish Lions Women's team will embark on their first-ever rugby tour, which will be preceded by a warmup match against France at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on August 27. This will occur prior to the squad's historic three-test series in New Zealand. The men's team, known since 1888, has hosted warmup games in 2005, 2021, and 2025. Lions head coach Jo Yapp expressed excitement about the team's debut on home soil, stating, \"For our British & Irish Lions Women’s team to step onto the field for the first time, on home soil and in front of our fans, is going to be incredibly special.\" The New Zealand tour kicks off on September 4 against a Black Ferns XV in Whangārei, followed by a test match in Auckland on September 11. Additional matches include an Invitational XV in Hamilton on September 14, and concluding tests in Wellington and Christchurch.",
  "summary": "CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — The first ever rugby tour by the British & Irish Lions Women's team will be preceded by a warmup match on home soil against France.The game will take place in Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Aug.",
  "key_points": [
    "British & Irish Lions Women debut on home soil in Cardiff",
    "Warmup match against France on August 27 at Principality Stadium",
    "New Zealand tour begins September 4 against Black Ferns"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Lions women to face France in history-making first game",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/lions-women-to-face-france-in-history-making-first-game",
        "published": "2026-10-14T09:00:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "British & Irish Lions Women to have Cardiff warmup against France before tour of New Zealand",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/british-irish-lions-women-to-have-cardiff-warmup-against-france-14423923",
        "published": "2026-10-14T10:15:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Lions face baptism of fire in France",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/lions-face-baptism-of-fire-in-france",
        "published": "2026-10-14T12:07:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}