Scotland and Glasgow Warriors tight-head prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia with a calf injury with Ireland and Connacht’s Finlay Bealham called up to replace him.
England’s Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also travel to Portugal to train with the squad.
“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. This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that,” said Lions head coach Andy Farrell.
“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.”
More to follow…
The British & Irish Lions Squad (Portugal Camp)
Forwards:
Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Jamie George (Saracens/England) #819
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
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) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
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) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
A fixture against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday June 20 will be the final act of preparation for Farrell’s side.
“The opportunity to play in Dublin at Aviva Stadium in front of over 50,000 Lions fans will make for a great occasion and the perfect send-off,” Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said.
“British & Irish Lions Tours have a rich heritage built over 130 years of touring but alongside our strong history which we are very proud of, it is important that we look for ways in which to evolve our Tours.”
Watch every game of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, including all three Test matches against the Wallabies, exclusively live on Sky Sports. Also stream with NOW.
