Eight Scots set to help Lions roar in Australia – Daily Business

Scotland will have eight players in the British & Irish Lions squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Coach Andy Farrell has named a 38-strong squad for the trip Down Under, where the Lions will play three Test matches.

Finn Russell is primed for his third tour as a Lion, having also played in New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021.

Joining the 32-year-old on the plane will be props Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman, second-row Scott Cummings, centres Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, Duhan van der Merwe and full-back Blair Kinghorn.

The squad will be captained by Maro Itoje, one of 13 English players selected, while Farrell has given the nod to 15 from Ireland and just two from Wales.

There are a total of 10 fixtures for the tour, kicking-off with friendly against Argentina in Dublin on 20 June, before nine further games Down Under. The opening Test is in Brisbane on 19 July, with two more to come in Melbourne (26 July) and Sydney (2 August).

Tuipulotu has not played since January after ripping pectoral muscles in training.

“Now it’s just about coming back and proving I’m a better player than when I got hurt,” he said.

Born and raised in the Melbourne area, Tuipulotu said he was relishing the chance to “go home” but cautioned against writing off Australia.

“I think anybody saying that should probably stop because history shows how difficult these Lions tours are,” he said. “This Wallaby team have been building now under Joe Schmidt and obviously had a really successful autumn.”