By Steve Scott, rugby correspondent

SCOTLAND WILL make its smallest contribution to the British and Irish Lions in the great history of the touring team after head coach Sir Clive Woodward could only find room for three players from north of the border in his 44-strong squad for this summer’s tour to New Zealand.

Scotland captain Gordon Bulloch and Crieff-born No 8 Simon Taylor—both tourists four years ago in Australia—will be joined only by the up-and-coming scrum-half Chris Cusiter in a party which features as many as 20 Englishmen despite that country’s slump since their World Cup win 18 months ago.

Scottish hopefuls like Chris Paterson, Jason White and Tom Smith—one of only two players who have started the last six Lions tests—have been left disappointed.

Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll will captain the team but the main surprises are the omission of Jonny Wilkinson—although Sir Clive has left the door ajar for the much-injured stand-off—and the inclusion of what appears to be a very personal mixture of English old lags and young untried promise.

Although there’s no place for Jonny, Sir Clive has found room for his “retired” England diehards Lawrence Dallaglio and Neil Back, and also for Richard Hill and Will Greenwood, two more of his World Cup heroes who have hardly played since the Sydney triumph due to injury.

In addition, Sir Clive has gone for inexperienced English front rowers Andrew Sheridan, Matt Stevens and Andrew Titterall, instead of giving the reliable veteran Smith his third successive tour.

There are 11 Irishmen and only 10 Welshmen despite their Grand Slam in the RBS Six Nations, but the head coach defended the national make-up of his selection.

“If we had to pick a test XV tomorrow then the majority would be from Wales and Ireland, two from England and one from Scotland,” he claimed.

However he singled out only Wilkinson, centre Mike Tindall and prop Phil Vickery—all English—as the players who could still get an 11th-hour spot on the plane if they showed fitness and form in the next few weeks.

“The players we have announced are world-class, the best in the British isles and the right people to take,” asserted the coach. “We all believe we can win.”

The one Scot that Woodward apparently seems to consider as a first XV starter would appear to be national captain Gordon Bulloch, who may get the nod from a crop of uninspiring hookers on the grounds that he is the best lineout thrower of the four men named.

The Glasgow man admitted to being honoured, but also to disappointment that there were so few Scots in the party. “It’s a huge event and a huge honour,” said Bulloch, who was called up to the last tour in Australia four years ago as an replacement and played as a substitute in the first test.

“But I’m really gutted for Tom, for Chris and for Jason, all of whom I thought had a good chance of making it.”

Paterson is the most controversial absence from the Scots as, although the Edinburgh players is able to play in three positions in the backline and kick goals, he appears to have lost out to Greenwood—whose recent injury record is as bad as Wilkinson’s—and Ireland’s Geordan Murphy as a utility back.

Smith’s unfortunate timing in breaking his hand last week may have been the crucial factor in him missing out, while Jason White seems to have been squeezed out by Sir Clive’s insistence on picking Richard Hill and Neil Back. The latter will be the oldest-ever Lions tourist at 36, picked wholly on his form in England’s much-hyped Zurich Premiership.

Taylor, although peaking into his best form after a long spell out with injury, is likely to be behind Wales’s Michael Owen and Lawrence Dallaglio, who despite a vocal campaign from the English media was unable to wrest the captaincy from O’Driscoll.

Cusiter was a possible Lions starter after a good start to the season, but was clearly passed by Wales’ Dwayne Peel as the season progressed. With Woodward clearly indicating he plans to split the largest-ever Lions squad into two units, one for test match duty and one for the “dirt-tracker” midweek games, the Borders scrum-half appears unlikely to have much of a chance to force his way into the test team.

As the Six Nations was the acknowledged final eliminator for most tour squad places then the Scots, after a second unhappy campaign in succession, can hardly complain about being largely ignored.

However, few expected the representation to be quite so small, and the lack of top-end coaching involvement—SRU director of rugby Ian McGeechan is joining the party largely to lead the midweek squad—perhaps is also being reflected.

In Australia four years ago head coach Graham Henry took a large number of Welshmen-ironically, Henry will coach New Zealand this summer—and one could hardly be surprised that Woodward has turned to so many of his tried and tested stalwarts.

However, the inclusion of so many injury-prone veterans and the selection of so many players largely on their play in English domestic rugby—and conveniently ignoring Heineken Cup form, where Zurich Premiership teams have been roundly outplayed by the French—suggests that a talented and youthful All Black side will have the upper hand this summer.

British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand:

Backs: I Balshaw (England and Leeds), G Murphy (Ireland and Leinster), J Robinson (England and Sale Sharks), G Thomas (Wales and Toulouse), S Williams (Wales and Neath-Swansea Ospreys), J Lewsey (England and Wasps), S Horgan (Ireland and Leinster), D Hickie (Ireland and Leinster), T Shanklin (Wales and Cardiff Blues), B O’Driscoll (Ireland and Leinster, captain), G Henson (Wales and Neath-Swansea Ospreys), O Smith (England and Leicester), G D’Arcy (Ireland and Leinster), W Greenwood (England and Harlequins), S Jones (Wales and Clermont Auvergne), R O’Gara (Ireland and Munster), C Hodgson (England and Sale Sharks), M Dawson (England and Wasps), D Peel (Wales and Llanelli Scarlets), G Cooper (Wales and Newport Gwent Dragons), C Cusiter (Scotland and Borders).

Forwards: G Rowntree (England and Leicester), A Sheridan (England and Sale Sharks), M Stevens (England and Bath), G Jenkins (Wales and Cardiff Blues), J White (England and Leicester), J Hayes (Ireland and Munster), G Bulloch (Scotland and Glasgow), S Thompson (England and Northampton), A Titterrell (England and Sale Sharks), S Byrne (Ireland and Leinster), D Grewcock (England and Bath), B Kay (England and Leicester), M O’Kelly (Ireland and Leinster), D O’Callaghan (Ireland and Munster), P O’Connell (Ireland and Munster), M Owen (Wales and Newport Gwent Dragons), R Hill (England and Saracens), N Back (England and Leicester), M Williams (Wales and Cardiff Blues), L Moody (England and Leicester), S Taylor (Scotland and Edinburgh), M Corry (England and Leicester), L Dallaglio (England and Wasps).