Matt Taylor, the Scotland defence coach, has hit out at the British and Irish Lions management for overlooking Ryan Grant as a replacement for the injured Irish prop Cian Healy, saying he felt "gutted" that the 27-year-old Glasgow Warrior did not get the call to join the Lions squad in Australia.
Grant seemed the likeliest candidate to take over when Healy, who was also cited for an alleged biting incident, was stretchered off with an ankle injury during the Lions' 69-17 victory over Western Force in Perth on Wednesday. However, the Lions head coach Warren Gatland, presumably guided by his English scrum coach Graham Rowntree, called for the England prop Alex Corbisiero instead, a move that astonished most observers who have watched Grant – and, for that matter, Corbisiero – in action over the past season.
At their South Africa tour stop in Durban, Scotland squad sources confirmed that Grant, a former army private whose stalling rugby career was rejuvenated by a move from Edinburgh to Glasgow two seasons ago, had been left bewildered by the Lions' rejection.
However, Taylor backed the prop to channel that anger and disappointment into his performance on Saturday, when Scotland take on Samoa in the opening match of the Castle Lager Test series at King's Park.
"The thing about Ryan is that he is the kind of player and kind of bloke who says 'I have a job here to do with Scotland and the Test match to play'," said Taylor. "That's what I love about the bloke. That is just his nature, his upbringing or his army background; he just gets on with it.
"I am really disappointed that he has not got a shot but I am not selecting the Lions team. He deserves to be there. If you talk to Massimo [Cuttitta, the Scotland scrum coach], he [will tell you that Grant] is very good in the scrum. In the Rabo and the Heineken Cup, he [Grant] has shown he can scrummage with the best in the world. I am gutted for him. He is disappointed though he does not eally show it. He is the kind of guy who just gets on with it, that what I like about him. He is one of my favourite players because he is a tough guy who gets on with it, doesn't complain, doesn't whinge."
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