Lions 2017: More players born in New Zealand than Scotland

Lions 2017: More players born in New Zealand than Scotland

Lions coach Warren Gatland has picked three players from his homeland – with Kiwi-born players outnumbering those born in Scotland in this year’s touring squad.

The only Scotland-born player in the squad is Stuart Hogg as his fellow countryman Tommy Seymour was born in the USA.

Meanwhile, New Zealand-born Mako Vunipola, Ben Te’o and Jared Payne will come up against the country of their birth.

Gatland’s squad is relatively balanced by recent standards. In 2005, Sir Clive Woodward toured New Zealand with a 21 England players in a whopping 44-man squad. And in 1993, when England lost to New Zealand, the English contingent outweighed the Celtic nations combined.

2013 = 37 man squad – Wales 15, England 10, Ireland 9, Scotland 3
2009 = 37 man squad – Wales 14, Ireland 10, England 9, Scotland 4
2005 = 44 man squad – England 20, Ireland 11, Wales 10, Scotland 3
2001 = 37 man squad – England 18, Wales 10, Ireland 6, Scotland 3
1997 = 35 man squad – England 18, Wales 8, Scotland 5, Ireland 4
1993 = 30 man squad – England 16, Scotland 7, Wales 5, Ireland 2
1989 = 32 man squad – England 11, Scotland 9, Wales 8, Ireland 4