The British and Irish Lions rugby union touring organization has entered into a tie-up with Whoop, the US-based wearable fitness tech brand.
The deal - through which US-based Whoop has been designated an official supplier to the Lions - comes during the final days of build-up to the Lions' nine-match tour of Australia, beginning on Saturday (June 28). The Lions' first game of 2025, a warm-up defeat to Argentina in Ireland, took place last Friday (June 20).
Through a tie-up unveiled today, Lions players and staff (both in the performance and backroom sections) will be equipped with Whoop 5.0 wearable technology, which will provide data and insights aimed at helping "optimize recovery, mitigate the impact of jet-lag, and track key health metrics throughout the tour."
The technology tracks metrics such as recovery rate, heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep performance.
The Lions (made up of players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) have said their performance staff and Whoop will work closely on managing the impacts of lengthy travel "by using data-led strategies to support player adjustment."
During the last few days, as the Lions travel to Australia, commercial partnerships have also been announced with financial technology firm Sokin and ActiveOps (which comes in as the Lions' official data analytics partner).
Coming next, the Lions will face the four Australian sides from the regional Super Rugby Pacific competition, starting with the Western Force on Saturday, followed by the Reds, Waratahs, and Brumbies on July 2, 5, and 9, respectively.
Following this, the Lions will face an Australia and New Zealand select side on July 12, before beginning the trilogy series against Australia in earnest on July 19, a three-test series that will run through August 2, with another exhibition against a First Nations and Pasifika select side on July 22.
IMG, the global sports and entertainment agency, is the Lions’ worldwide licensing agency through 2027.
Whoop, meanwhile, has been most active in cycling in terms of sports sponsorships over recent years, and is currently the title sponsor of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, courtesy of a deal announced last February.
