Eight Scottish players in British and Irish Lions squad for tour of Australia

Eight Scottish players have been named in the British and Irish Lions squad for their upcoming tour of Australia.

Head coach Andy Farrell announced his selection for the fixtures, to be played between June 20 and August 2, in front of a live audience at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday.

The Scotland internationals included are Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings, Zander Fagerson, Pierre Schoeman, Finn Russell, and Duhan van der Merwe.

England and Saracens star Maro Itoje has been named as captain for the tour.

Farrell has turned to the 2017 and 2021 Lions tourist after he impressed while leading England during this year’s Six Nations, helping his team finish runners-up.

Itoje has become the first English captain of the British and Irish Lions since Martin Johnson in 2001.

The Lions will take on Argentina in Dublin on June 20, eight days before their opening game down under against Western Force in Perth.

When in Australia, they will also have games in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.

They will face a team with indigenous and Pacific heritage on July 22 in between two games against the Wallabies in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Ian Foster, who coached New Zealand to the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, has been named as part of the coaching staff for the Australia and New Zealand side, which will face the Lions in Adelaide on July 12, the final warm-up match before the Test series.

The biggest Scottish contingent ever chosen to represent the Lions was the nine selected in 1989.

Farrell’s squad comprises of 38 players in total made up by 21 forwards and 17 backs.

There is no place in the touring party for the head coach’s son Owen, who was widely tipped to be included despite an injury-hit debut season at Racing 92.

Instead, Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were present as the three fly-halves, meaning George Ford and Sam Prendergast are overlooked.

Other big-name omissions are Jamie George, Courtney Lawes and Ben Curry, but Jac Morgan, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ben Earl, Josh van der Flier, Mack Hansen and Elliot Daly are present.

Scotland’s Toulouse full-back Blair Kinghorn is the only player based in France to feature among the 38.