Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions will begin their pre-tour training in Portugal this week, but preparations for the Australia tour are being disrupted by the unavailability of nearly half of the 38-man squad.
A total of 16 players are unable to join the Lions’ warm-weather camp in Quinta do Lago due to club commitments, with the BKT United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals taking place this weekend.
Leinster, Bath, and Leicester Tigers have all booked places in their respective finals, with Leinster alone contributing 12 players to Farrell’s squad.
Farrell was fully aware this clash in the rugby calendar would pose complications and has planned accordingly.
Additional players are on standby and will train with the squad in Portugal without making the trip to Australia unless called up later due to injury.
This proactive approach aims to avoid a repeat of the 2017 “geography six” controversy, when Warren Gatland was accused of devaluing the Lions jersey by selecting call-ups based on location rather than merit.
It’s not the first time the Lions have encountered this issue: in 2021, Gatland was also missing 12 players for the initial training camp in Jersey before their opener against Japan.
Among those absent are key figures such as Blair Kinghorn, the only Top 14 player in the squad, who remains on club duty with Toulouse.
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His likely rival for the full back role, Hugo Keenan, is also among the missing contingent, as are second rows James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, and Ollie Chessum.
Hooker is another position of concern. With Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher unavailable due to Leinster’s final, Farrell has called on Jamie George to provide temporary cover.
George had narrowly missed out on selection but joins the camp to support Luke Cowan-Dickie, the only hooker currently available.
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In the front row, Scotland’s Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the tour, prompting the call-up of Finlay Bealham.
England’s Will Stuart is now in pole position to start against the Wallabies, with fellow prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour also travelling to Portugal as back-up.
With so many players missing, Farrell’s first matchday squad—set to face Argentina in Dublin on June 20—may largely be shaped by availability rather than form.
Fly-half is one of the most hotly contested positions, with Finn Russell still engaged with Bath, leaving Marcus Smith and Fin Smith likely to stake their claims in the opening fixture.
The latter has impressed for England recently and may be better suited to Farrell’s tactical style.
Russell has been tipped as the man to wear the 10 shirt but Fin Smith has made himself the starter for England and is seen as perhaps favouring Farrell's gameplan more.
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