Scotland scrumhalf and captain Mike Blair has been called up to the British and Irish Lions squad to tour South Africa, replacing injured Irishman Tomas O’Leary, Lions officials said in a statement yesterday.
O’Leary fractured an ankle playing for Munster last month.
Blair was one of three national captains not to make the initial 37-man squad, along with England’s Steve Borthwick and Ryan Jones of Wales. His inclusion takes the Scottish contingent up to three, alongside lock Nathan Hines and prop Euan Murray.
He will fight it out with England’s Harry Ellis and Wales’ Mike Phillips for the number nine jersey for the three Test series against the world champions.
“Sport can be very cruel,” said coach Ian McGeechan. “One minute Tomas was celebrating his well-earned call-up to the Lions tour to South Africa, the next he is being carried off injured while playing for Munster against Llanelli Scarlets in Cork.”
“Unfortunately the injury was a serious one and it ruled Tomas out of the tour. We wish Tomas all the very best for a quick recovery,” he said.
“The selectors and I have had plenty of time to review the situation in terms of a replacement scrumhalf and were in agreement that Mike Blair should replace Tomas. He was on our reserve list for such an eventuality,” McGeechan said.
“As a national captain he is well respected by his peers and his 58 Tests for Scotland mark him as a very capable and experienced scrumhalf,” he said.
McGeechan still has to name a replacement for injured Welsh center Tom Shanklin, while he might also lose Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan, who faces a disciplinary hearing tomorrow on a gouging charge.
The Lions depart for South Africa on May 24, with their first match on May 30 and the first Test in Durban on June 20.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Leicester City on Sunday launched their quest for an immediate return to the English Premier League with a 2-1 win at home to crisis club Sheffield Wednesday after the visitors’ supporters protested against Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri. Wednesday are under several English Football League embargoes for a range of financial breaches, with payments of wages to players and staff delayed for the past three months. Owls fans made their feelings toward Thai businessman Chansiri clear by delaying their entry to their seats and the away end was empty as the players came onto the pitch at the King Power Stadium, with a
RSS