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10th June 2025
12:02pm BST
Finlay Bealham was the first late call-up to the Lions squad, after Zander Fagerson was forced to withdraw through injury.
While it is cruel luck for the Scot, most fans were delighted for the popular Connacht man, who many felt should have been named in the original squad.
Sale Sharks tighthead Asher Opoku-Fordjour has also been called up to train with the Lions, with the possibility of featuring against Argentina next week, given the uncertainty around the fitness of Tadhg Furlong and his involvement with Leinster and their URC final this weekend.
However, one man who is not pleased with Bealham's presence is outspoken Sunday Times writer Stephen Jones.
He wrote on X: "Tight-head disaster. Near-catastrophe for Lions as Zander Fagerson withdraws - Tadhg Furlong fitness very suspect - they’ve called up Finlay Bealham who is not in same class and also on standby is Opoku-Fordjour, who struggled badly for Sale against Tigers on Saturday. Bad luck. Odd selections".
He then proceeded to call Bealham 'bang average'.
Given Jones' propensity for being incorrect, it is often safe to assume that the opposite of what he says is the correct stance.
This is most certainly one such case.
On the injury to Fagerson and Bealham's call up, Lions head coach Andy Farrell said: "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,” Farrell said in a statement.
“But it’s great to finally be 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.”
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