As the official Global Charity Partner of the British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia, we're proud to stand beside two great rugby rivals on a shared mission - to protect one of the world's greatest natural wonders: the Great Barrier Reef. It's a partnership built on power, precision, and purpose and it couldn't come at a more important time.
When it comes to strength, stamina and raw athleticism, nothing matches the intensity of a Lions Tour, except perhaps the underwater athletes of our Reef. On the Reef, the rules are wild, the competition is fierce and only the strongest survive.
We've selected five species for our Team Reef starting lineup. These aquatic superstars have been genetically training for millennia, honing their skills to become champions of speed, agility, endurance and instinct:
The octopus earns its place as fly-half on Team Reef with unmatched intelligence and exceptional control. Each of its eight arms can move independently, allowing this underwater tactician to coordinate complex actions in a split second making it a natural choice for directing play. An octopus's brain power is legendary in the marine world and it's renowned for solving problems, assessing its surroundings and adapting its strategy under pressure.
The octopus is the ultimate evasive player, slipping through tiny crevices or clouding the water for a clean getaway.
Top skills: vision, agility, decision-making.
The sailfish takes the winger jersey on Team Reef with one unmissable credential: pure, blistering speed. This marine sprinter is the Jonah Lomu of the ocean. Its fast, powerful, and almost impossible to stop once it's in full flight. With a sleek, streamlined body, a collapsible dorsal fin, and a bill built for slicing through water, it's designed for short, explosive bursts. This world-class winger has been clocked at over 100 kilometres per hour.
Built for breakaways and finishing flair, the sailfish is the line-break weapon every team dreams of.
Top skills: acceleration, evasive speed, instinct.
The humpback whale is a giant among athletes, bringing sheer power, endurance, and aerial dominance to the second row. These ocean roamers migrate thousands of kilometres each year with unrelenting stamina, making them natural enforcers in the engine room of the scrum. When it comes to the line out, no lift is required - this 30-tonne powerhouse launches itself clean out of the water in a jaw-dropping breach.
With a commanding presence and unstoppable work rate, the humpback is the ultimate teammate by driving forward momentum and lifting the energy of the pack.
Top skills: strength, stamina, lineout dominance.
Small but explosive, the mantis shrimp is a fearless flanker. This tiny titan can strike with the speed of a bullet, delivering blows with more force than its size should allow. It's aggressive, relentless and thrives in close combat, diving into the chaos with surgical precision to disrupt the opposition and win back control.
Top skills: aggression, explosive speed, breakdown disruption.
The reef shark is alert, fast, and always patrolling the backfield, ready to respond the moment a gap appears. Much like a fullback fielding high balls or shutting down a break, the reef shark glides through its territory with sharp awareness and split-second reflexes. It reads the game, positions itself perfectly, and moves with speed when the counterattack is on.
Calm when it needs to be, ruthless when it counts, the reef shark is the last line of defence and the first species you want sweeping behind the play.
Top skills: spatial awareness, closing speed, counterattack instinct.
These ocean athletes aren't just nature's elite performers, they're vital to one of the most vibrant and life-giving ecosystems on Earth. But their home is under serious threat.
Coral reefs support a quarter of all marine life and over a billion people worldwide. Yet rising ocean temperatures, pollution and human pressures are pushing them to the brink. We've already lost half the world's reefs. Without urgent action, they, and everything that depends on them, could disappear in our lifetime.
Now it's your turn to join Team Reef.
By fundraising for this critical cause, you'll help power the science, restoration and innovation needed to protect and rebuild coral reefs at scale. We've made more progress in the last five years than in the 50 before and with your support, we can keep the momentum going.
Rally your mates, your club, your workplace, or go solo, and kick for something bigger than the game.
Every $100 you raise = one entry into the draw to win an unforgettable holiday to Hayman Island, in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Plus, there are signed British & Irish Lions and Wallabies jerseys, and an official match ball up for grabs.
This is your moment. Kick4Coral today.
