Complex eligibility debate at the heart of the Lions

A group of foreign-born Lions tourists will add plenty to Andy Farrell’s squad in Australia but not everyone is happy that they have been picked

- writes Harry Latham-Coyle

Late on a Thursday night in Melbourne, the Tuipulotu family gathers, hoping for a homecoming. Kept awake by the twin stimulants of caffeine and nerves, Sione’s mother, father and grandmother wait and watch as the British and Irish Lions squad is revealed thousands of miles away. The fates have aligned wonderfully, a Lions trip back to Australia falling in a year in which their kin had captained the Scottish clan; now all that is left is to see if the centre of their attention has done enough.

The wait is worth it. Having overcome a pectoral injury in the nick of time, Sione Tuipulotu is the 36th name uttered by Ieuan Evans, a return ticket down under signed and stamped. “I just want to grab this opportunity because I’ll never get it again, to go back to Australia, and play for the Lions,” Tuipulotu beams, the immense pride in his voice clear. “For it to perfectly line up with an Australian tour when I get to captain Scotland in the year that I go on this Lions tour, and when I’m playing my best rugby, I’m just so grateful.”

Many will remember the emotional reunion arranged between Tuipulotu and his “Greenock granny” from last November, when the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) arranged for a first trip home for Jaqueline Thomson in 12 years to watch her grandson play against Australia at Murrayfield. A more heartwarming clip one will struggle to find, and Tuipulotu delivered on the pitch with a thunderous performance against past colleagues and compatriots as Scotland beat the Wallabies.

It was the sort of performance that marked him out as a certainty for Andy Farrell’s selection if fit – but not all would have the 28year-old in their squad. Last week, the great Willie John McBride, who won 17 Lions Test caps across five tours, admitted to South African title Rapport that the number of foreign-born players picked in Farrell’s 38 “bothered” him. “In my day, the team consisted only of native players,” McBride added.