Scotland's Sutherland, Ashman and Graham called into Lions squad

LIONS CALL UP: Monday’s additions are loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, hooker Ewan Ashman and wing Darcy Graham, who were on Scotland’s tour of New Zealand, where Gregor Townsend’s squad are preparing to play Samoa.

Andy Farrell has offered further protection to his British & Irish Lions squad for the tail end of the Test series with Australia by calling up a trio of Scotland players ahead of next week’s midweek clash with a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne.

The Lions face the Wallabies in the first Test here in Brisbane this Saturday with head coach Farrell conscious of the need to keep his matchday 23, to be named on Friday, out of the line of fire three days later for a tour match four days out from the second Test.

Ireland centre Jamie Osborne arrived in Brisbane at the weekend, England hooker Jamie George is en route from his country’s tour of Argentina and Farrell called up tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson following the Irish victory over Portugal in Lisbon on Sunday.

Monday’s additions are loosehead prop Rory Sutherland, hooker Ewan Ashman and wing Darcy Graham, who were on Scotland’s tour of New Zealand, where Gregor Townsend’s squad are preparing to play Samoa.

Sutherland, who spent a season with Ulster, is a Test Lion having twice faced South Africa’s Springboks four years ago in Cape Town and with Ashman will join the Lions squad in Melbourne this Sunday.

Graham will be first in, linking up with the tourists in Brisbane having avoided a ban for the two yellow cards that led to his dismissal against Fiji last Sunday in Suva. The wing had been hotly tipped to be named in Farrell’s initial squad of 38 players ahead of the tour given his strike rate of 31 tries in 47 Test appearances.

The latest call-ups confirm the Lions strategy of repeating Warren Gatland’s decision to add a so-called “Geography Six” to his touring party in New Zealand in 2017. Four Welsh players and two Scots were brought in from their respective nations’ tours of Australia and New Zealand.

Cory Hill, Gareth Davies, Kristian Dacey and Tomas Francis of Wales and Finn Russell and Allan Dell from Scotland were named on the bench for two midweek games against New Zealand Super Rugby franchises though fly-half Russell and prop Dell saw game time as replacements.