British and Irish Lions vs Wallabies: How to watch, when is kick-off and who is playing?

Twelve years of anticipation will end on Saturday night when the Wallabies and British and Irish Lions face off in the first of three Test matches, at Lang Park in Brisbane.

The historic rugby tour sees Australia's finest take on the very best players from four nations in an event that comes to our shores once every dozen years.

ABC Sport will live blog the first Test between the British and Irish Lions and the Wallabies on Saturday, July 19, from Lang Park in Brisbane.

Here is what you need to know about the first Test between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions.

When will the Wallabies play the British and Irish Lions?

The first Test between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions will be played on Saturday, July 19, at Lang Park in Brisbane.

Here is the kick-off time in each state and territory, as well as the UK, Ireland and the other SANZAAR rugby nations:

8pm AEST: Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT

7:30pm ACST: South Australia and Northern Territory

6pm AWST: Western Australia

10pm NZST: New Zealand

11am BST: United Kingdom and Ireland

12pm SAST: South Africa

7am AST: Argentina

How can I watch Wallabies vs British and Irish Lions?

In Australia, the Test match will be shown on free-to-air by broadcaster Channel Nine. The match will also be streamed online through the Nine Network's 9now.

Nine's streaming platform, Stan Sport, will also be broadcasting the match live.

Here are host broadcasters in other parts of the world:

UK and Ireland: Sky Sports

New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ

Pacific: DigicelTV

South Africa: SuperSport

Argentina (Caribbean, Central and South America) ESPN

United States: CBS

Canada: DAZN

You can follow the action on ABC Sport, through the live blog as well as commentary online, and via the ABC Listen app.

Who is playing in the first Test match

Australia Wallabies British and Irish Lions James Slipper 1. Loosehead Prop Ellis Genge Matt Faessler 2. Hooker Dan Sheehan Allan Alaalatoa 3. Tighthead Prop Tadhg Furlong Nick Frost 4. Lock Maro Itoje (captain) Jeremy Williams 5. Lock Joe McCarthy Nick Champion de Crespigny 6. Blindside Flanker Tadhg Beirne Fraser McReight 7. Openside Flanker Tom Curry Harry Wilson (captain) 8. Number Eight Jack Conan Jake Gordon 9. Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park Tom Lynagh 10. Fly-half Finn Russell Harry Potter, 11. Left Winger James Lowe Len Ikitau 12. Inside Centre Sione Tuipulotu Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 13. Outside Centre Huw Jones Max Jorgensen 14. Right Winger Tommy Freeman Tom Wright 15. Fullback Hugo Keenan Billy Pollard 16. Reserve Ronan Kelleher Angus Bell 17. Reserve Andrew Porter Tom Robertson 18. Reserve Will Stuart Tom Hooper 19. Reserve Ollie Chessum Carlo Tizzano 20. Reserve Ben Earl Tate McDermott 21. Reserve Alex Mitchell Ben Donaldson 22. Reserve Marcus Smith Andrew Kellaway 23. Reserve Bundee Aki Joe Schmidt Head coach Andy Farrell

What are the British and Irish Lions?

The British and Irish Lions are an international representative rugby team, with the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales being eligible for selection.

When the Lions first came to Australia, over half their games were Aussie Rules Photo shows A black and white group portrait of the English football team This year's British and Irish Lions will play nine matches on Australian soil. Their first forebears though played 35 matches in Australia, 19 of which were under Australian Rules. And they even beat one of the leading sides of the day.

The first tour, although unsanctioned, was in 1888 with players representing the British Isles playing matches in Australia and New Zealand.

The Lions have regularly toured Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

The Lions did not play against the Wallabies between 1966 and 1989, however, they did play against Queensland and New South Wales during their tour of 1971 to New Zealand.

The 1989 Lions tour of Australia began the current four-year cycle of Lions tours to the southern hemisphere.

The Lions rotate between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, meaning they only tour each of these nations once every 12 years.

What are the Wallabies and Lions playing for?

There is more than just pride and history at stake for the Wallabies and Lions.

Starting in 2001, the winning team of the Wallabies vs Lions Test series is awarded the Tom Richards Trophy.

Tom Richards is the only Australian-born rugby union player to represent the Lions and the Wallabies.

The British and Irish Lions player Jamie Roberts holding the Tom Richards Cup in 2013. (AAP: Dean Lewins)

Richards was part of the first Wallaby team to tour Britain in 1908, and was also part of Australasia's (a combined Australia and New Zealand team) gold medal-winning rugby team at that year's Olympic Games in London.

Richards was part of the Lions tour to South Africa in 1910, while he was living in Britain.

Australia were the first holders of the trophy after their series win in 2001. The Lions are the current holders following their series win in 2013.

English-born rugby player Blair Swannell also played for the Lions (1899,1904) and Wallabies (1905).

When did the British and Irish Lions last tour Australia?

The British and Irish Lions were last on Australian shores in 2013, where they claimed a memorable 2-1 Test series win.

Wallabies taking a gamble with Lynagh Photo shows Tom Lynagh poses for a photo wearing Wallabies colours. Tom Lynagh's Wallabies teammates hold the key to making his job easier in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane on Saturday night.

The opening two Tests of the series were nail-biters, going down to the final play. The Lions triumphed in Brisbane 23-21, then the Wallabies were victorious in Melbourne, 16-15.

In both matches, the losing side had a penalty kick at full-time to win the match, but missed.

The third Test threatened to again go down to the wire, with the Lions holding a 19-16 lead early in the second half. But the tourists scored three tries in the final 23 minutes to earn a commanding 41-16 win, and claim the series.

James O'Connor and James Slipper both played in the 2013 series for the Wallabies. Should they take the field against the Lions this year, they will join George Smith (2001 and 2013) as the only three Wallabies to have played in consecutive Lions tours.

Have the Wallabies beaten the British and Irish Lions?

Since their first official Test match in 1899, Australia and the British and Irish Lions have faced each other in 23 Test matches.

The Wallabies have managed to defeat the Lions six times.

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Australia was victorious in the maiden encounter in 1899, a 13-3 win at the Sydney Cricket Ground. That was also Australia's first Test match win in rugby.

The Lions would go on to win the next three Tests in 1899, claiming a 3-1 series win.

Australia would have to wait until 1930 before their second Test win against the Lions, a 6-5 triumph at the Sydney Cricket Ground. That was the only Test match against Australia played on the 1930 Lions' tour, meaning Australia had achieved their first of two series wins.

The modern 12-year cycle of Lions tours began in 1989, and the Wallabies achieved their first Test win over the Lions in 49 years.

World champions at the time, the Wallabies defeated the Lions in the first Test 30-12 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Lions recovered to win the following two Tests and win the series.

Australia's only multi-match series win came in 2001.

After losing the first Test at the Gabba, the Wallabies recovered to defeat the Lions at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, 35-14. The 21-point margin is Australia's largest win over the Lions.

The Wallabies won the series with a famous 29-23 victory at Stadium Australia in front of 84,188 fans.

Australia's last win over the Lions was during the second Test in 2013.

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