SEND FOR FINN
Russell set for call-up as Lions bolster squad
FINN RUSSELL is set to lead a six-man battalion of reinforcements from Scotland and Wales to bolster the Lions ahead of their first Test against the All Blacks.
Warren Gatland will finalise the additions over the weekend but Sportsmail understands Russell and fellow Scot Allan Dell will be joined by Gareth Davies, Kristian Dacey, Tomas Francis and Cory Hill.
The Lions coach will be anxious that both Russell and Dell make it unscathed through this morning’s match with Australia, even though the new arrivals have no chance of actually making his Test team.
Despite claims of devaluing the Lions jersey, the players will provide additional bodies to help with
training and Tuesday’s game against the Chiefs. Curiously they are not expected to stay with the squad for the whole tour, although Russell could remain in New Zealand if Owen Farrell does not recover from a leg injury. Gatland will use the call-ups to help protect his star players ahead of next week’s series opener at Eden Park — a strategy he revealed when he was named as coach in September. He said at the time: ‘The hardest game is the Chiefs before the First Test. How do you protect that Test match 23? There’s potentially an opportunity to bring in four or five to maybe sit on the bench. ‘It’s about getting the balance right. You don’t want the squad to be too big, you want to keep it small enough so everyone feels a part.’ The Kiwi has selected Scottish and Welsh only because they are in location to make short-haul trips from Sydney and Auckland. England, meanwhile, are on tour in Argentina and Ireland are in Japan. The composition of three frontrows, one lock, one scrum-half and one fly-half will, in theory, allow Gatland to rest his entire 23-man Test squad against the Chiefs. Despite Stuart Hogg’s departure with a facial injury, the half-dozen arrivals will leave Gatland with a 46-man squad — two larger than Sir Clive Woodward’s 2005 party. The Lions have formed a ‘one squad’ mentality but All Blacks coach Steve Hansen pre-empted the call-ups and hinted at a split in the camp. ‘He is about to bring in extra players to give himself the ability to play with two squads,’ said Hansen. ‘He’s at the stage where he wants to do that. I guess he will bring them in.’ Lions lock George Kruis, however, hit back, saying: ‘He doesn’t know what’s going on inside the camp. There will be a big emphasis on any new guys added to the group. They will be helped out in getting up to scratch.’