British & Irish Lions suffer setback as ‘explosive prop’ forced to withdraw from Australia tour
Scotland tighthead prop Zander Fagerson and Ireland counterpart Finlay Bealham.
The British & Irish Lions have suffered a setback ahead of their upcoming tour to Australia after it was confirmed that Scotland and Glasgow Warriors tighthead prop Zander Fagerson has been forced to withdraw due to injury.
The 29-year-old is battling to overcome a calf injury and his place in the Lions squad has been taken by Ireland and Connacht front-row Finlay Bealham.
Fagerson has been sidelined since April after he sustained a calf injury at a Glasgow Warriors training session ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Zebre.
He is an explosive prop who was part of the famous touring team’s squad to South Africa in 2021 but only featured in non internationals on that trip and was hoping to win a Lions Test cap against Australia.
The Lions’ first available players for their tour to Australia gathered in Dublin ahead of a six-day training camp in Portugal.
Head coach Andy Farrell and the rest of his Lions squad will travel to Quinta do Lago on Tuesday.
Players from Bath, Leicester Tigers and Leinster, who are involved in the Premiership and URC finals respectively, are set to join the squad in Ireland next week ahead of the 1888 Cup match in Dublin against Argentina.
England front-row duo added to training squad
Meanwhile, England front-row duo Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also be travelling with the Lions to Quinta do Lago to train with the squad.
British & Irish Lions: The 16 players who will miss the first training camp
Veteran Saracens hooker George, who is 34 years old, was a Lions tourist to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021, while 20-year-old Opoku-Fordjour, who is comfortable at loosehead and tighthead prop, made his England Test bow against Japan last November.
Farrell expressed his disappointment that Fagerson has been ruled out of the trip Down Under but feels Bealham is a worthy replacement.
“It’s tough on Zander to miss out so close to the tour, but now Finlay gets an opportunity to come in and add to the group,” he said. “This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that.
“But it’s great to finally be at the stage where we can get onto the training ground and get to work with these players.
“Portugal will be really important for us as we look to get our house in order with only a few training sessions before we take on Argentina in the 1888 Cup in Dublin.”
The British & Irish Lions squad for Portugal training camp
Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Ben Earl (Saracens/England), Jamie George (Saracens/England), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England), Maro Itoje (Saracens/England), Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks/England), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England) Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Elliot Daly (Saracens/England), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England), Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland), Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
