Why are the Lions shunning their most in-form player?
On previous tours, coaches have come out with the same line but everyone involved in the final warm up game knew they were highly unlikely to be involved in the Tests. Garry Ringrose is in the mix for Tests. Pic:Not this time. There are still openings and speculation about full-back, the centres, right wing, tighthead, second row and openside.
So, loads of spots still open on the Test team to take on the Wallabies in the first Test in Brisbane, but one player who looks to be completely out of the reckoning (and has appeared that way since before the tour even began) is Scotland second row Scott Cummings.
You just wonder have the Lions missed a trick here. Scott Cummings had a stunning game against the Waratahs Pic:Cummings was a surprise inclusion in the initial touring squad — no-one had been hyping him up beforehand and not much was known about the giant Glaswegian outside Scotland beyond the fact that he had been on the scene for a few years.
If he was rated as a Test long-shot from the start, Cummings was completely discounted following his first start against Western Force.
The Lions kick-off receipts were a calamity in Perth and, while there were a number of different factors at play in the malfunction, Cummings was the most obvious transgressor having been repeatedly hoisted aloft only to fluff his catches. Cummings had a tough outing against the Force. Pic:His name never featured in the continuous Test side speculation and when Cummings was selected again to start against the New South Wales Waratahs, little was made of it, either in terms of auditioning for the first Test or atoning for his first outing.
What happened next was remarkable. Cummings seemed super-charged from the off, smashing into blue jerseys at every turn, showing for ball at every opportunity and becoming the game's dominant presence the lineout.
He was also highly prominent in the loose where he deserved far greater reward for his athleticism and intelligent lines of running. Scott Cummings in action for Scotland with Jonny Gray. Pic: Getty
But the stand-out moment occurred after just a minute and a half when a mix-up between Sione Tuipulotu and Keenan led to a breakaway by the home team which seemed destined to end in a try.
Enter Cummings — the Scot turning and chasing back 50 metres to catch the break before hurling himself through the air to intercept the scoring pass and win the turnover for the Lions. Maro Itoje on the charge against the Brumbies. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
It was an example of game intelligence, speed and athleticism at a level you could not see any of the other second rows emulating and part of an overall performance that has been the best individual display by a Lion on tour to date.
And yet, there was no fanfare for Cummings afterwards, merely the odd observation that he had proven more effective than against the Force.
It was far more than that, Cummings looked like the ideal match for Maro Itoje in the second row and potentially a serious weapon for the Lions in the Test series.
The final warm-up game against the Australia-New Zealand combined selection was the last time for Cummings to make his case for Test inclusion but he was picked on the bench — where any contribution is immediately qualified by its cameo role status. Tadhg Beirne and James Ryan formed the second row ahead of him with the slot next to tour captain Maro Itoje still on the table.
The Lions have lacked clarity in their back-five — the failure to pick a specialist No6 has led to a lot of chopping and changing and switching between positions — especially for Beirne between the second and back rows.
The Lions have lacked certainty in this key area —and the most certain display on the whole tour so far belongs to Scott Cummings.
That should have been recognised.
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