ScottCummings

Scott Cummings will head to Australia for his first British & Irish Lions Tour after being picked by Andy Farrell.

It is a sign of the trust shown in the second row, who might have feared that injury would hamper his chances of selection.

Widely tipped as a strong contender coming into 2025, a broken arm suffered just before the Guinness Six Nations kept him out of the entire competition.

He made his return to action off the bench in a clash with the Bulls in April, one last chance to convince the selectors that he deserved to go.

And his body of work was clearly strong enough as he joins the likes of skipper Maro Itoje and 2021 tourist Tadhg Beirne among the second rows in the squad.

It is fitting reward for Cummings, who has been a mainstay in the Scotland side for six years now.

Born and bred in Glasgow, he has been part of the Glasgow Warriors set-up for a decade now, making his debut for the side while still only 18.

Two seasons with Scotland Under-20s showed his unquestioned potential, and it was not long before Gregor Townsend had him training with the full Scotland squad.

A full debut followed in 2019, ahead of the World Cup in Japan as he continued to grow in experience.

Battling for game time against players like the Gray brothers and Grant Gilchrist was not easy, but the last couple of years have seen Cummings come into his own.

After returning from a second World Cup experience in 2023, he played every game of the following Six Nations, missing just 10 minutes of Scotland’s campaign.

And he then played a key role in Glasgow Warriors winning the United Rugby Championship title, scoring a try in the final as they beat the Bulls in Pretoria in the final.

While injury has restricted him in the 2024/25 season, he has shown just what a valuable asset he can be and will now hope to take that power and physicality to Australia with the Lions.