British and Irish Lions

The 125th British & Irish Lions anniversary tour of Hong Kong and Australia is not far away. Warren Gatland picks his squad next week and the 10 games will come in a rush after that.

So, to get you in the mood for a wonderful trip to Oz, we've teamed up with the IRB's Total Rugby channel to get you the inside information of some of the wonderful cities the Lions team and fans will be visiting.

It took the original Lions in 1888 46 days to reach Dunedin by boat. The 2013 Lions will fly to Hong Kong for their first game against the Barbarians on Saturday, 1 June, before heading to Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Newcastle for their nine matches on Aussie soil.

First up are the Western Force in Perth and who better to show you around the Western Australian capital than Wallaby wing Nick Cummins. Click here to see his profile of Perth and what awaits the Lions fans in his home town.

The Lions played Victoria in Melbourne in 1888, as well as a number of Aussie Rules matches, and former Wallaby skipper Stirling Mortlock is your tour guide in his home town. Click here to take his Melbourne tour.

Less than 24 hours after losing their unbeaten record in Canberra, the British & Irish Lions were given a huge boost on arrival in Brisbane when Wales wing George North was declared fit to play in the first Test on Saturday.

The British & Irish Lions will dust themselves down after losing their unbeaten record to the Brumbies and be back at work in a positive frame of mind from Wednesday, according to 2009 Test full back Rob Kearney.