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The British & Irish Lions have defended the decision to fly three extra Scottish players to Australia and insist it is not a rerun of the “Geography Six” saga that generated controversy in New Zealand in 2017.
Rory Sutherland, Darcy Graham and Ewan Ashman have been called up to provide cover for the Lions’ final midweek game next Tuesday in between the first and second Tests. The trio’s arrival will inflate the number of Lions on tour to a whopping 44 with Owen Farrell, Ben White, Jamie Osborne and, most recently, Jamie George and Thomas Clarkson having already been added to the party.
Back in 2017 when Warren Gatland called up six additional players – Allan Dell, Finn Russell, Kristian Dacey, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill and Gareth Davies – there was unhappiness within the squad that selection had been driven by geographical convenience rather than merit.
All three Scottish players had been preparing to face Samoa in New Zealand on Friday but, in this case, the Lions management say that geography was not the overriding factor. Sutherland was a Lion in South Africa four years ago where he played in six matches including two of the Tests, Graham was a strong candidate to join the squad in the first place and Ashman has won the nod over Wales’s Dewi Lake.
The number of extra bodies being bussed in, nevertheless, once more calls into question the wisdom of scheduling midweek tour games in between Test matches in the modern era. In 2017 some original Lions players were also upset on behalf of certain teammates who had narrowly missed out on initial selection only to be leapfrogged by less talented players who were simply lucky be located slightly closer.
The public backlash was so intense that Warren Gatland chose not to use all the members of the “Geography Six” as replacements, with only Russell and Dell eventually making it on to the pitch. This time it would appear the Lions management have sought to stagger the call-up announcements slightly and skipper Maro Itoje insists all the Scots will be warmly greeted. “I have no doubt they will be welcomed,” said Itoje, preparing to lead the Lions in to Saturday’s first Test. “The boss has called them in because he believes they will help the Lions to achieve their goal of winning a Test series. All the players that have been called in are quality players.
“They have a high level of experience and have achieved things in their career. We are all in this together. It’s not us and them. It doesn’t matter if there’s a late call-up. We’ve seen in the past how late call-ups have had huge impact on the tour in positive ways. I have no doubt that everyone who has called up will play a significant role in helping the team achieve its goal.”
Assistant coach John Dalziel also insisted the Lions were “not giving away opportunities lightly” but admitted the additional players could be released again after the game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne next Tuesday. “There’s always been a plan in place and we’ve made the right one based on what we have,” said Dalziel. At least one member of the 2017 squad declined to talk to the six new arrivals eight years ago but Dalziel believes there will be no repeat this time. “I didn’t hear those stories, but I’d like to think our lads would be above that,” he said.
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Ashman, who plays his club rugby for Edinburgh, has won 28 Scotland caps to date and made his international debut in November 2021 against Australia. Graham has played for Scotland for seven years and has scored 31 tries in 47 Tests, although he was sent off last Saturday for collecting two yellow cards against Fiji. No ban has been forthcoming, however, so the wing has been free to fly in and join the Lions camp.
The weekend call-up for the Ireland prop Clarkson, meanwhile, has further bolstered the sizable Leinster presence on the tour to 14 while Itoje was also quizzed about the publicly-expressed aim by Henry Pollock and other Lions players that they want to hammer Australia 3-0 in the Test series. “If you were to ask any Wallabies players, I hope that’s their ambition too,” said Itoje. “Obviously we want to win every game we play but all we’re focused on is this Saturday. The other two games will look after themselves.”
