When luck is not your friend

Rob Cole looks at the long list of would-be Lions who were not able to go on tour because of last-minute injuries or for a host of other reasons

- Rob Cole

ZANDER Fagerson became the first player selected for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to succumb to injury when he pulled out last week with a calf injury. Add in three Leinster players who are currently receiving treatment - Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flyer - and it is a nervy time all round for players and coaches.

At least Scotland tighthead Fagerson has played for the Lions before. He was on the 2021 trip to South Africa and picked up his coveted Lions Number #848. But there have been numerous others down the years who have been selected and never got the chance to don one of the most famous shirts in world rugby. Without an appearance on the pitch, players do not become fully fledged Lions.

Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher joined the 2021 pre-tour camp in Jersey to act as cover and was finally called out to South Africa on July 15 to cover the three hookers. He never got a game and therefore didn’t qualify for a Lions number.

Now he will be hoping all goes well for him this time round after he was selected on merit first time around by Andy Farrell for this summer’s tour to Australia.

In 2017, Warren Gatland called up what became known as the ‘Geographical Six’ to boost his stock of players and to protect some of his more senior men. They were hooker Kristian Dacey, scrum-half Gareth Davies, tight-head Tomas Francis and lock Cory Hill from the Wales tour in the south seas, and the Scottish duo Allan Dell, a loosehead, and Finn Russell, an outside-half.

All six sat on the bench for the game against the Chiefs and Dell, above, came on for 10 minutes when Joe Marler picked up a yellow card. None of the others were used during the game. They were then used as emergency cover once again for the next game against the Hurricanes.