Finlay Bealham called up to Lions squad as Fagerson ruled out
FINLAY BEALHAM HAS been called up to the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad, with Zandar Fagerson ruled out through injury.
As reported by The 42 yesterday, the Ireland and Connacht prop gets the nod from Andy Farrell.
The first available players linked up in Dublin today ahead of a six-day training camp in Portugal. The squad will travel to Quinta do Lago tomorrow, with players involved in the URC and Premiership Rugby finals joining the set-up in Ireland next week ahead of the Argentina clash.
Bealham replaces Scotland and Glasgow Warriors prop Fagerson, who misses the Tour with a calf injury. Farrell named Tadhg Furlong and Will Stuart as the other tighthead props in his initial 38-man group last month; Furlong is also sidelined due to injury, while Stuart will be involved in next weekend's Premiership final with Bath.
England's Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also travel to Portugal to train with the squad.
'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. This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that,' said Farrell.
'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.
'Portugal will be really important for us as we look to get our house in order with only a few training sessions before we take on Argentina in the 1888 Cup in Dublin.'
The British & Irish Lions Squad (Portugal Camp)
Forwards:
Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Jamie George (Saracens/England) #819
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks/England)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
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Backs:
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
Fixtures
20 June: The Lions v Argentina, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, KO 8pm
28 June: Western Force v The Lions, Optus Stadium, Perth, KO 10:45am
2 July: Queensland Reds v The Lions, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, KO 10:45am
5 July: NSW Waratahs v The Lions, Allianz Stadium, Sydney, KO 10:45am
9 July: ACT Brumbies v The Lions, Gio Stadium, Canberra, KO 10:45am
12 July: Invitational AU & NZ v The Lions, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, KO 10:15am
19 July: Wallabies v The Lions, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, KO 10:45am
22 July: First Nations & Pasifika XV v The Lions, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, KO 10:45am
26 July: Wallabies v The Lions, MCG, Melbourne, KO 10:45am
2 August: Wallabies v The Lions, Accor Stadium, Sydney, KO 10:45am
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