Lions deny devaluing jersey amid new 'geography six' claim
The Lions have called in a number of players in recent days, including some surprise faces that have led to questions
Maro Itoje, the British & Irish Lions captain, faces the media today
The Lions have dismissed any chance of their recent call-ups suffering the same fate as Warren Gatland's 'geography six' as they revealed some could head home before the end of the tour of Australia.
In recent days, the likes of Jamie Osbourne, Jamie George and Thomas Clarkson have all been brought into the squad. Today, Andy Farrell added Scottish trio Darcy Graham, Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman to his squad as cover for next week's clash with the First Nation and Pasifika XV in Melbourne, with the trio already in nearby Fiji with Scotland. By Sunday, his original touring party of 38 will have ballooned up to 44.
That has prompted some comparisons to the six players Gatland called up for the Lions' final midweek clash with the Hurricanes in 2017 - with Welsh quartet Cory Hill, Gareth Davies, Kristian Dacey and Tomas Francis brought in as injury cover along with Scottish pair Alan Dell and Finn Russell. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
The move was met with fierce criticism, with Joe Marler and Dan Cole refusing to be replaced by the call-ups amid feelings of resentment to the new faces in camp.
"I didn't hear those stories, but I'd like to think our lads would be above that," said Lions assistant coach John Dalziel.
And Lions captain Maro Itoje - who toured New Zealand with the Lions in 2017 - says the new call-ups will be ingratiated into camp with open arms.
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'I have no doubt that they will be welcomed in," said Itoje. "The boss, Andy, has called them in because he believes they will help the Lions to achieve their goal of winning a Test series.
"So, all of the players that have been called in are quality players. They are player like everyone else in the team, have a high level of experience and have achieved things in their career.
"We are all in this together. It's not us and them.
"It doesn't matter if there's a late call-up. We've seen in the past how late call-ups have had huge impact on the tour in positive ways.
'I have no doubt that everyone who has called up will play a significant role in helping the team achieve its goal.'
Dalziel also revealed that the new call-ups might not remain with the Lions for the rest of the tour.
"It'll be on an individual basis, based on what's going to happen through the week and Saturday again as well," said Dalziel.
"We'll assess after that. But we'll make that decision after that."
And the Lions assistant denied that the decision to bring in extra cover despite no new injuries had devalued the jersey.
"No, I think naturally at this stage of the tour that the games that are more intense," he added. "Geographically, we're getting people here if they do need to play.
"I think it's the right time to do it with the right players. We're not giving away opportunities lightly.
"It's quality players like Darcy Graham and Rory Sutherland, an ex-Lions international. These are players who will come in and add value to the group.
"In terms of where we're at and the way that we see the games, with specialist positions, in a training session, you could lose someone.
"We've already lost Luke to the protocol. It doesn't give us cover for the games. We have to have the right people here. Someone like Jamie George started the tour with us, to prepare well in Portugal so that should it be that he's needed, he comes ready to go.
"All these things have been thought out really well. We'll have the right numbers here to assist us and have the best performance through training and into the games.
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"You're also estimating what could happen six games prior to that. We could have been unlucky enough to have two or three bigger injuries.
"Anything could happen. We've seen it from game to game. There was always a thought with the squad that, as you get through games, it naturally will reduce. There's always been a plan in place and we've made the right one based on what we have."
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