Eight Scotland players picked in Sir Ian McGeechan’s Lions XV

Scotland’s stunning 11-6 over England at Twickenham created shockwaves on the opening weekend of the Championship and is reflected in McGeechan’s selection. The former coach, who guided the British & Irish Lions to their famous Test series win over South Africa in 1997, is selecting a composite side on each weekend of the Six Nations for sponsor Vodafone. The Lions are due to return to South Africa this summer for a three-Test series, although the tour could now take place in Australia or the UK and Ireland due to Covid issues. Scotland have been underrepresented on recent Lions tours but McGeechan’s selection suggests that could change this summer. He has picked four Scots in the backs, including inside centre Cam Redpath who made his Scotland debut in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup win. Stuart Hogg, a two-time Lions tourist, is picked at full-back, with Finn Russell at stand-off. Duhan van der Merwe, who scored the only try of the match at Twickenham, fills one of the wing berths. In the forwards, Zander Fagerson gets the nod at tighthead prop, Jonny Gray is one of the locks and Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie fill the flanker positions. Only one England player makes it into Sir Ian’s side: second-row forward Maro Itoje. Sir Ian McGeechan’s Lions XV of the week: Stuart Hogg;Louis Rees-Zammit, Gary Ringrose, Cam Redpath, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Conor Murray; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Zander Fagerson, Maro Itoje, Jonny Gray, Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, CJ Stander. A message from the Editor: Get a year of unlimited access to all of The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today