Hamish Watson replaced by Justin Tipuric in Lions XV

Adam Kyriacou

The British and Irish Lions have suffered a setback ahead of Saturday’s pre-tour clash with Japan after Hamish Watson was ruled out by concussion.

Watson sustained a head injury during training at the squad’s camp in Jersey on Tuesday and must now begin return to play protocols, preventing him from making his Lions debut at Murrayfield.

The vacancy at openside is filled by Wales’ Justin Tipuric, a veteran of two previous Lions tours, who has been promoted into the starting XV from outside of the 23 originally selected by Warren Gatland.

Blow for Watson

Watson was one of four Scotsmen picked to start by Gatland as a nod to the match being held at Murrayfield, where a crowd of 16,500 will be present for the curtain raiser to the South Africa tour.

It robs the 29-year-old of an early chance to impress the Lions management in the race to claim a back-row spot against the Springboks.

Watson was voted Six Nations player of the year after a series of powerful displays, including Scotland’s outstanding away wins against England and France.

British & Irish Lions (revised): 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Ali Price, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Anthony Watson

Date: Saturday, June 26
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite, Pierre Brousset
TMO: Eric Gauzins

 

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Lions Tour Update

Mark Smith and Adam Kyriacou discuss all the latest updates ahead of The Lions Tour.