Lions 2017: More players born in New Zealand than Scotland
British and Irish LionsThursday, 20 April 2017 at 18:45
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
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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