
Injured Scotland prop Fagerson out of Lions tour
The Glasgow Warriors tighthead will be replaced in the squad by Ireland international Finlay Bealham.
The squad, minus those involved in next weekend's Premiership Rugby and United Rugby Championship finals, are due to fly to Portugal for a training camp on Tuesday.
England pair Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also join the group.
"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," said Farrell.
"This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that.
"But it's great to be finally at the stage where we can get onto the training ground and get to work with these players."
The Lions, captained by England skipper Maro Itoje, face Argentina in Dublin on June 20 before starting their tour of Australia, which includes three Tests against the Wallabies.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
'It's only match one' says Itoje after Lions mauled by Pumas
The Lions, who leave for a three-Test tour of Australia on Saturday, were outplayed in the first half and, after a second half resurgence, went down 28-24. Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over the Pumas line and the Lions were also awarded a penalty try but the visitors replied with three tries of their own including one for fly-half Tomas Albornoz who finished with 18 points. It was the first opening tour match loss since 1971 but there was much to build on as the team sets off on Saturday for Australia. Seventeen players were not considered by coach Andy Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn, this weekend. "We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be," Itoje told Sky Sports. "We only showed glimmers of what we can do. When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. "We want to be more aggressive but we are building. It wasn't quite that, we will live, learn and get better." The Lions, who come together every four years as a team drawn from the best players in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, chose to play Argentina, ranked fifth in the world rather than a scratch team like the Barbarians to give themselves a stern test ahead of Australia. "Argentina showed us where we are lacking," said Itoje. "I am happy we had a hard-fought game. We live and learn. This is only match one." Farrell admitted that his side, who have only been together a short time, have much to do before their next game against Western force in Perth on June 28. "You can't win a Test with that error rate," he said. "We lost enough balls in that game for a full tour, throwing balls that weren't on. "There was good and bad throughout. We were just a little bit off, I take responsibility for that. "I hope we are better off for that. We will keep building for the Test matches." Under pressure The Lions, however, were under pressure from the start as the Pumas went on the attack from the kick-off, Albornoz stroking over a penalty in the fifth minute. The Lions then had a try ruled out when Luke Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball forwards as he reached for the line but Fin Smith levelled with a penalty. The Pumas hit back straight away as Ignacio Mendy stepped in off his wing, wrong-footed Duhan van der Merwe and slid through for the try. The Lions had a second try, this time from Sione Tuipulotu, ruled out before his centre partner Bundee Aki barged through for their opener. Albornoz knocked over two more penalties to make it 14-10 as the clock ticked towards the red. The Lions had time to restart and had a chance to regain the lead before the half-time whistle as the Pumas coughed up possession. The Pumas, though, quickly retrieved it, attacking down the right and opening the door for Albornoz to skitter through under the posts for their second try of the half. He added the conversion to take a 21-10 lead at the break. The Lions began the second half strongly and picked up a penalty try when Puma prop Mayco Vivas came in from the side of a maul to prevent it going over the line, collecting a yellow card in the process. Shortly after, the Lions were in front, a bullocking run by prop Ellis Genge producing chaos in the Argentine defence and allowing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne to crash over. Just before the hour, the Pumas were back in front when Connacht's Santiago Cordero beat Marcus Smith in a sprint to the line for the try that sealed the game. © 2025 AFP


France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Lions slump to warm-up defeat by Argentina
Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne both went over the Pumas line and the Lions were also awarded a penalty try but the visitors replied with three tries of their own including one for fly-half Tomas Albornoz who finished with 18 points. It was the first opening tour match loss since 1971 but the performance against the fifth-ranked side in the world will give coach Andy Farrell plenty of cause for hope as the team prepares to set off on Saturday for their three-Test tour of Australia. Seventeen players were not considered by Farrell because of their presence in domestic competitions last weekend or, in the case of Toulouse's Blair Kinghorn, this weekend. In spite of that the Lions, a team drawn from the best of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, produced long stretches of effective and eye-catching rugby. The Lions, however, were under pressure from the start as the Pumas went on the attack from the kick-off, Albornoz stroking over a penalty in the fifth minute. The Lions then had a try ruled out when Luke Cowan-Dickie spilled the ball forwards as he reached for the line but Fin Smith levelled with a penalty. The Pumas hit back straight away as wing Ignacio Mendy stepped in off his wing, wrong-footed Duhan van der Merwe and slid through for the try. The Lions had a second try, this time from Sione Tuipulotu, ruled out before his centre partner Bundee Aki barged through for their opener. Fin Smith added the conversion to put them into the lead 10-8. The Lions continued to throw the ball around and take the game to the Argentinians but it was the visitors who looked the better-oiled machine. Albornoz knocked over two more penalties to make it 14-10 as the clock ticked towards the red. The Lions had time to restart and had a chance to regain the lead before the half-time whistle as the Pumas coughed up possession. The Pumas, though, quickly retrieved it when Van der Merwe lost possession, allowing them to attack down the right with only full-back Marcus Smith to beat. Albornoz skittered through under the posts for their second try of the half and added the conversion to take a 21-10 lead at the break. The Lions began the second half strongly and picked up a penalty try when Puma prop Mayc Vivas came in from the side of a maul to prevent it going over the line, collecting a yellow card in the process. Shortly after, the Lions were in front, a bullocking run by prop Ellis Genge producing chaos in the Argentine defence and allowing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne to crash over. Just before the hour, the Pumas were back in front when Connacht's Santiago Cordero beat Marcus Smith in a sprint to the line. The Lions camped on the Argentine line but Beirne gave away a soft penalty to allow the Pumas to clear their lines and claim a victory that left the Puma players in tears.


France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Russell signs new deal at Premiership champions Bath
The 32-year-old kicked 13 points and added an impressive interception in Saturday's 23-21 victory over Leicester in the Premiership final at Twickenham. The win was Bath's first Premiership title in 29 years and sealed a treble, with the European Challenge Cup and the Premiership Rugby Cup already secured. Russell, who joined Bath in 2023, has made 45 appearances and scored 420 points in all competitions for the club. "I have loved my time here at Bath," said the playmaker, part of the Lions squad for their upcoming tour to Australia. "It's a great team and a great club. We've come a long way over the last couple of years and I am really looking forward to staying here and seeing what the club can achieve." Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan, who has transformed the team side from rock-bottom finishers in 2021/22 to league champions, said: "Finn is one of the world's best 10s, a player who performs in the big moments and more importantly he's an incredible team man and a family man. "He is one of the lads, his training is exceptional, and he's added so much to our group." © 2025 AFP