Excitement for Jamie after Lions letdown
Jamie Ritchie has not given up on his dream of playing for the British & Irish Lions this summer – but insists his only focus right now is on captaining Scotland.
The Edinburgh forward was one of the players sent an email by the Lions, asking if he would be available for the tour to South Africa, and admits he was very disappointed to be left out of Warren Gatland’s final squad of 37.
But within days, he was asked by Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend, to skipper the national squad for what he sees as an exciting and challenging summer schedule, starting with an ‘A’ international against England next Sunday, then full Test matches in July against Romania and Georgia.
“I was obviously disappointed on the day,” Ritchie said about learning of his Lions omission.
“Leading up to that, I just thought it was nice to be in the mix.
“It was pretty cool to get the email, and have people chatting about you. But as the day grew closer and closer, I started to think that I really wanted to go.
“Then the day came, and I wasn’t picked. I’m happy that I was considered, still disappointed not to be selected. But then Gregor asked me to captain the summer tour, so it was a real honour for me, and I’m really excited about doing that.”
The Lions have already had to make one change to their squad because of injury, and history suggests they are likely to need a good few more during the tour itself.
“I was told to stay fit, but whether it means I’m on stand-by or not, I don’t know,” Ritchie added.
“I don’t wish injury on anyone, so for their sake, I hope I don’t get called out.
“If it does happen, I’ll obviously be delighted. But I’m very much focused on Scotland’s summer tour at the moment.”
The game that kicks off the tour may not have been given the status of a full international, and the 24-year-old flanker admitted he was unsure what approach the England camp would take to it. All the same, he insisted he is determined to prepare for it as meticulously as ever.
“With it being an England team, I think they’ll be very much set-piecefocused,” said Ritchie. “But because it’s an ‘A’ game, they may throw it around a bit more.
“We don’t really know what to expect. So we’ll treat it like we do all our games – as if it’s a Test match.”