Matt Fagerson backs brother Zander to bounce back from Lions tour heartbreak
Younger brother Matt, who is currently in Fiji with Scotland, said of his sibling's disappointment: 'I think he took it pretty hard. He had his injury before the squad was announced and he was over the moon (when named in the squad).
'He had been really diligent in his rehab and he was coming back to a really good place. And then re-injuring it, obviously that was definitely a big blow for him. But he's old enough now to sort of realise that there's some things he can't do.
'He did everything right, and these things happen, so I think he's come to accept that. He's just working away at home to try and get himself back fit and spend some quality time with the kids and his wife.'
The younger Fagerson would also have been deemed a potential contender for Lions involvement after excelling in the back row for Glasgow and Scotland, but he, too, suffered an untimely ankle injury in April that required surgery.
The consolation for the 26-year-old is that he has been able to 'shave a few weeks off' his rehab and get himself fit enough to join up with Gregor Townsend's Scotland squad for their summer tour of the South Pacific.
'It (the Lions) was probably in the back of my mind, not really knowing if I was in the mix and obviously being out with an injury,' Fagerson said when asked how he viewed getting injured just a month out from Lions selection.
'But when Gregor said that he was really keen for me to come on summer tour, that gave me a lot of purpose in what I was doing in my rehab.
'And that definitely drove me on, gave me something to hold on to. So I haven't really thought about it (the Lions) since, I've just focused on this tour now.'
Fagerson has been working his back to full fitness and, after sitting out last Saturday's non-cap international victory over Maori All Blacks, the back-rower now feels ready to return to contention for Saturday's Test against Fiji in Suva and end three months on the sidelines.
'It might have been a little bit of a stretch to play last weekend, but I feel good,' he said. 'I'm in great shape, physically. It's probably just been about getting the confidence in my ankle back.
'I feel like I've done that over the last week or so, and I've still got this week's training to do it, so if selected, I'll be ready to play.'
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Spectator
2 days ago
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How England can finally win the Ashes
With the summer's Test matches over, England's cricket coach and captain will now be wondering how to avoid our usual trouncing in Australia this winter. Normally we try to win and we get walloped. On the last three occasions we've ventured Down Under, Australia have either whitewashed us 5-0 or beaten us 4-0 with one game drawn. And, weather permitting, Australia don't just win – they usually crush us by massive, embarrassing margins: an innings and 123 runs, ten wickets, 381 runs… These humiliations show that on their home turf Australia are approximately twice as good as we are. Australia often score more runs in one innings than England can manage in two. Unless we take drastic measures, that could well be the fate that awaits us this winter too. This summer's games in English conditions against an Indian team in transition have exposed chronic weaknesses. 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We would not be sacrificing much by replacing specialist bowlers with batsmen who can bowl a bit. Our specialist bowlers, after all, are not that special and often fail dismally against Australia. In the last Ashes series, the legendary Jimmy Anderson, one of the greatest bowlers ever, only managed a paltry total of five wickets, each of which cost an eye-watering 85 runs. And he averaged just nine with the bat. Meanwhile, in the same series, Joe Root took six wickets with his part-time spin at just 28 runs apiece, while also averaging over 50 with the bat. Admittedly, relying on part-time bowlers means that the Aussies are likely to post huge scores. If Australia win the toss they could well bat for two days and declare when they get to about 800. That is why most of our bowlers should be spinners who can bowl long spells. Their job will be to contain the Australians with defensive fields; fortunately they all have plenty of experience bowling as economically as possible in limited overs cricket. But then it will be Australia's turn to suffer. If they can score 800 with the conventional five or six batsmen, then England's 11 batsmen should also be able to score 800. Normally tailenders do not last long, but we would not have any tailenders – just batsmen. Batsmen all the way down. We would bat and bat… and bat. Against exhausted bowlers, we might even see our number 11 become the first ever to score a Test century. Those mammoth first-innings scores would take the match into the final day with both sides still scheduled to bat again. There simply would not be time for the Aussies to beat us. Will high-scoring draws drive the crowds away? No: it is short, one-sided games and dead rubbers that are the real turn-off. The cricket-loving Australian public would be delighted to see the Poms pose a genuine challenge for once, taking the fight into the fifth day and keeping the series alive. And perhaps – allow me to dream for a moment – having drawn the first four Test matches, in the final game we win the toss and bat, posting 800 again. Then, their minds scrambled after long days in the field, and realising that they can never win, the demoralised Australians begin to understand how Karpov felt. They are skittled out twice – those batsmen who can bowl that I mentioned are all perfectly capable of producing wicket-taking deliveries – and we take the series 1-0. This cunning scheme will be dismissed out of hand as ridiculous. But surely, sleepwalking into another ignominious shellacking is even more stupid? And since I am confident that that is exactly what is going to happen, I am going to lay a big bet on England losing heavily. Happens every time.
