Farrell Bolsters the Lions with Scottish Players
The British & Irish Lions coach, Andy Farrell, has called up Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman and Darcy Graham from Scotland to reinforce his team for the tour match against the First Nations & Pasifika XV.
These three players were withdrawn from Scotland’s training camp in New Zealand, where they were preparing for their test against Samoa in Auckland.
The Graham end will join the team on Monday, according to the Lions. This happens two days after receiving two yellow cards, leaving Scotland with one less player in the 29-14 defeat against Fiji in Suva.
Sutherland, Glasgow Warriors’ loosehead prop and who participated in two tests of the previous Lions tour in South Africa, will join the camp in Melbourne on Sunday, along with Edinburgh hooker Ewan Ashman.
The First Nations-Pasifika gathering will be held on July 22nd at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.
In the First Nations-Pasifika team, led by Toutai Kefu, former Australian player Kurtley Beale stands out, along with test players Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, and Pete Samu.
The 27-player squad includes 20 with roots in the Pacific Islands and five Indigenous Australians, including ACT Brumbies fullback Andy Muirhead, and scrum-half Harrison Goddard.
On the Lions’ side, Farrell has been busy calling for reinforcements ahead of the first match of the series against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
England hooker Jamie George was called up after Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered a head knock during the 48-0 victory over the invitational team Australia-New Zealand XV in Adelaide on Saturday.
Ireland’s tighthead prop, Tom Clarkson, was also called up over the weekend to provide more cover in the front row.
