Gregor Townsend makes the case for Lions selection for his Scotland heroes

Gregor Townsend believes his Scotland players have played themselves into contention for the British & Irish Lions with their performance in the win over France.

Scotland full-back and captain Stuart Hogg has been widely touted for Lions selection. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

The Six Nations triumph was their first in Paris in 22 years and follows on from a rare win over England at Twickenham at the start of the tournament.

Scotland have been under-represented in the Lions squad in recent years but Townsend expects that to change when coach Warren Gatland selects his squad to tour South Africa this summer.

“Going into the [France] game, we felt we were the two best teams – in attack and defence stats we were first and second with France in most of the categories – so if you are looking at stats then our players are as good as any out there in the championship.

“If you are looking at wins: to win in France and win in London, no team has done that during the last two years, but our teams have.

“If you are going to look at playing one of the best teams in the world in South Africa, our players have won out there whether it is with crowds or not, so you’ve got to then say that the players have put themselves in position to be on that tour.”

Scots likely to be in contention for the Lions include Stuart Hogg, Duhan van der Merwe, Chris Harris, Finn Russell, Hamish Watson, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Sutherland.

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