Brown called up as Lions sweat on McCarthy knock

Gregor Brown is the latest player to be called up by the British and Irish Lions, as head coach Andy Farrell sweats on an injury to Joe McCarthy.

McCarthy departed Saturday's first Test win against Australia in Brisbane in the early stages of the second half and could be seen getting treatment for a foot issue, which Farrell later confirmed was plantar fasciitis, which the second row has been dealing with on tour.

"It was niggling away at him there," the head coach said on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium

"We got him off. Hopefully we got him off in time."

Brown will join the squad in Melbourne today, having featured in Scotland’s 41-12 win against Samoa in Auckland yesterday, and his arrival now brings the Lions squad to a bulging 45 players.

The second row’s fellow Scotland internationals Ewan Ashman (hooker), Rory Sutherland (prop) and Darcy Graham (wing) have also been called in from New Zealand, where Scotland have been based on their own summer tour.

Gregor Brown featured for Scotland in Saturday's win against Samoa

Ireland pair Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne have also been called into the squad in the last 10 days.

Those players will likely feature in Tuesday’s final mid-week match against the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium, as Farrell looks to protect his frontline stars for Saturday’s second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brown, who can play both at lock and flanker, made his Scotland debut during last summer’s tour of North and South America, and featured in all five games of the 2025 Six Nations, starting against France in Paris.

The slew of call-ups in the last fortnight has raised the question of what value the Lions are placing on this final mid-week game, and is sure to be met with raised eyebrows in Australia, particularly after Tuesday’s opponents were blocked from selecting Pete Samu in their squad.

But Farrell (above) insists they’re giving the game the respect it deserves.

"Well, we care about the squad and nothing but the squad. That's how it's been the whole time. We’ve never separated once.

"We’ve been all-in on everything together. We’ll enjoy this victory tonight together.

"We travel to Melbourne tomorrow [Sunday]. We’ll name a side internally just before dinner. Then everyone will roll in on Monday to make sure that team, in an extended captain's run like we've been doing over the past four of five weeks, is as good a preparation as we've had all tour. It matters to us on Tuesday night as a group."

Click here to read article