Scotland prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia with a calf injury and replaced by Ireland’s Finlay Bealham.
Fagerson’s club, Glasgow Warriors, confirmed the news on X, adding: “We’re all behind you, Z – we know you’ll come back even stronger.”
The 29-year-old last featured for Glasgow in early April and was absent as they lost Saturday’s United Rugby Championship play-off semi-final to Leinster in Dublin.
Capped more than 70 times by Scotland, the tighthead toured South Africa with the Lions in 2021 and featured against Sigma Lions.
Australian-born Bealham, who qualifies for Ireland through his grandmother, moved to Ireland in 2010 and made his international debut in 2016.
With Tadhg Furlong injured, the 33-year-old Connacht prop started every game of Ireland’s 2025 Six Nations campaign, winning his 50th cap in the defeat by France in the penultimate round.
Andy Farrell’s Lions face Australia in Tests on 19 July, 26 July and 2 August and will play seven other matches on tour.
Saracens hooker Jamie George, 34, and his fellow Englishman Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 20, of Sale Sharks, will travel to Portugal to train with the squad.
George featured on the previous two Lions tours, picking up three caps.
It’s a sad reality that many players achieve their ultimate goal of being selected for the Lions, only to see injury snatch that dream away before they get their hands on that famous red jersey. It happens every four years.
It’s particularly cruel that’s it’s happened to Zander Fagerson, though. He was the only Scot out of eight selected for the 2021 tour to South Africa that did not see any action in the Test series.
On the day it was announced he had been selected for this summer’s tour to Australia, Fagerson spoke to BBC Scotland of how he felt he had not done himself justice four years ago, hampered by niggling injury problems, and the drive he had to go Down Under to show the best of himself.
It’s heartbreaking he will not now get the chance to do that.–BBC
