Kelso's Ross Ford getting ready in May 2009 to head out on that year's British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Kelso's Ross Ford getting ready in May 2009 to head out on that year's British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Kelso's Ross Ford getting ready in May 2009 to head out on that year's British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Nostalgia in pictures: 12 of the last Borders rugby players to get Lions call-ups

British and Irish Lions tour call-ups for Borders rugby players might be rarer these days than they used to be, but it’s still almost unheard of for the region to go completely unrepresented.

That’s only happened once in the last four decades, in 2001, though the Borders contingent taking part in the multinational team’s four-yearly tours has sometimes numbered only one and has never exceeded half a dozen over that time.

Warren Gatland, head coach third time round for the Lions’ tour of South Africa this summer, is due to name his squad next month, and hopes are high that it will include at least a couple of Borderers or, failing that, more Scots than has become the norm of late.

Ahead of that announcement, here’s a look back at a dozen of the most recent Borders players to turn out for the Lions …

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Ahead of that announcement, here’s a look back at a dozen of the most recent Borders players to turn out for the Lions …