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Lions call up Ireland prop Clarkson and Scots trio as cover / Photo: © AFP
Lions call up Ireland prop Clarkson and Scots trio as cover
The British and Irish Lions added Ireland prop Tom Clarkson to their squad Monday as cover for Saturday's first Test against Australia in Brisbane and called up a trio of Scotland players for a tour match next week.
Ireland tighthead Clarkson will reinforce the front-row options for the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane along with Jamie George.
England hooker George got the call on Saturday after Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered a suspected concussion in the 48-0 win against the AUNZ XV in Adelaide.
The 25-year-old Clarkson is flying in from Lisbon, where he played in the Ireland team that beat Portugal 106-7 on Saturday.
His call-up swells the Irish contingent in the Lions squad, under Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, to 18 players.
Scotland trio Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman and Darcy Graham will provide cover for the tour match against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne next Tuesday, July 22.
All three started in Scotland's 29-14 defeat to Fiji in Suva at the weekend and are in New Zealand preparing for a match against Samoa in Auckland on Friday.
Graham will miss the match against Samoa after being sent off for a second yellow card against Fiji and will join the Lions squad in Brisbane immediately.
Sutherland and Ashman will fly to Melbourne on Sunday.
Clarkson was given his Ireland debut by Farrell in November and has won eight caps.
His Ireland teammate Jamie Osborne, who can play centre or full-back, is already with the Lions in Brisbane after being summoned from Portugal as cover for Blair Kinghorn, who injured his knee last week.
Scotland's Kinghorn, widely regarded as first-choice Lions fullback, landed awkwardly in the 36-24 win against ACT Brumbies last Wednesday but scans on the knee showed no serious damage.
"We're hopeful that he will take some part in training (this week)," said Lions defence coach Simon Easterby of Kinghorn.
"Then it will be a little bit of a waiting game in terms of whether he's available for the first Test."
The Lions, winners of all five warm-up matches in Australia leading into the first Test, have already lost Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams to a torn hamstring and English fullback Elliot Daly with a broken arm.
V.J. Coelho--JDB
