Sione Tuipulotu heads a Scottish contingent of eight in the British & Irish Lions squad heading to Australia this summer and has warned that the Wallabies will pose a far sterner test that many are predicting. A dismal showing at the 2023 Rugby World Cup where they failed to qualify from the group stage saw Eddie Jones resign as head coach after less than a year in charge. But Australia have been revived under Joe Schmidt and Tuipulotu expects the three-Test series to be “very tough”. The Glasgow Warriors centre was worried injury would wreck his hopes of a Lions call-up but he was named in Andy Farrell’s 38-man touring party along with club-mates Huw Jones, Zander Fagerson and Scott Cummings, Edinburgh duo Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman, Bath’s Finn Russell and Toulouse’s Blair Kinghorn, the only French-based player included. It’s the same number of Scots who were named in the 2021 Lions squad which lost the series to South Africa. Fagerson, Russell and van der Merwe all return from four years ago while Russell was also part of the 2017 trip to New Zealand and will now embark on his third Lions tour. Inevitably, there was disappointment for some Scottish contenders, with Darcy Graham, Rory Darge, Jamie Ritchie, Tom Jordan and Ben White all notable absentees. Graham in particular can feel hard done by. He averages a Test try every one-and-a-half games but Farrell opted for van der Merwe, Tommy Freeman, James Lowe and Mack Hansen as his frontline wingers, with the versatile Elliot Daly as another option. Injuries to squad members may yet open the door for Graham and others and head coach Farrell also said he had left two slots open for further additions. One of these could be filled by his son, Owen Farrell, who is currently out with a groin injury The selection of Tuipulotu caps a joyous return for the centre who has not played since January after ripping pectoral muscles in training. The injury caused him to miss the Six Nations after he had been named Scotland captain for the tournament. “Now it’s just about coming back and proving I’m a better player than when I got hurt,” he said. Born and raised in the Melbourne area, Tuipulotu said he was relishing the chance to “go home” but cautioned against writing off Australia. “I think anybody saying that should probably stop because history shows how difficult these Lions tours are,” he said. “This Wallaby team have been building now under Joe Schmidt and obviously had a really successful autumn. “If there's one thing I know about Australians it’s that there’s an ego there and they back themselves. So if you think you're gonna walk in there and they're gonna lie down well I don't know, I think you're a bit delusional. It’s going to be a very tough series and I'm sure all the coaches and players are well aware of that.” Unsurprisingly, Ireland supply the majority of the Lions players, with Farrell selecting 15 (nine forwards and six backs) from the country he coached to back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams. There are 13 England players in the squad (eight forwards and five backs). The Scottish eight comprises three forwards and five backs; and Wales supply two, one forward and one back. As expected, Maro Itoje has been named tour captain. He is the first English skipper of the British and Irish Lions since Martin Johnson in 2001. Itoje led England to second place in this year’s Six Nations in his maiden spell as starting skipper. Caelan Doris had been the front-runner to be captain but injured his shoulder in Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton last weekend and surgery has ruled out the Ireland No 8. “It feels amazing to be named Lions captain,” said Itoje. “I’m deeply honoured, humbled and I will do my best to do the role justice.” Scotland second-rower Cummings was an under-the-radar selection after making just one sub appearance for Glasgow since fracturing his arm in January. “I was trying not to get my hopes up with the fact that I haven’t played too much,” said the 28-year-old. “I’d obviously been playing for Scotland for a couple of years, but when you miss the whole Six Nations, you don’t know whether the coaches remember what you’ve done before or if they’re picking on form, which, obviously, I don’t technically have much of because I haven’t been playing. “Thankfully, I heard my name called out. It’s difficult to comprehend, I’m still buzzing.” Van der Merwe started all three Lions Tests in South Africa in 2021 during a tour played in empty stadiums due to Covid. “I feel very privileged to be selected in the squad for the second time,” said the Edinburgh winger. “I was very nervous waking up this morning because I so wanted to go on a second tour and experience it in front of fans.” The 2025 Lions have a 10-fixture itinerary that opens with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 20 and culminates in a three-Test series against the Wallabies. The first match on Australian soil is against Western Force in Perth on June 28. The Test matches are on July 19 and 26 and August 2, in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively. The Lions are seeking their first Test series victory since 2013 when they last toured Australia.