SKIPPER John Barclay insists pulling on a dark blue jersey this summer is “no consolation prize” for the Scots overlooked by British and Irish Lions boss Warren Gatland.
Greig Laidlaw, Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour were the only Scots among the Lions travelling party which touched down in New Zealand this week as the build up to their Test series with the All Blacks begins.
The small size of that Tartan contingent surprised many, with the likes of Barclay, fellow flanker Hamish Watson, hooker Fraser Brown, lock Jonny Gray and stand-off Finn Russell among those whose form saw them in the reckoning before Gatland named his 41-man squad back in April.
But having been left out, they will have to now to be consoled with a seat on the plane carrying Scotland to Singapore on Saturday as they start their own three-week Asia-Pacific tour.
Barclay, though, is adamant his team will not be left choking on sour grapes as they shape up for their first games under new coach Gregor Townsend against Italy, Australia and Fiji.
He said: “I’ve not heard anyone mention the Lions to be honest.
“That’s the nature of the group. We’ve got some humble guys and we just get on with it.
“Some might be disappointed but we’ve got an exciting tour to go on. We’re not far from New Zealand. You don’t want guys to get injured but if they did you’d like to think some of our guys will get a phone call.
“But playing for Scotland is no consolation prize.
“It’s a new environment and a new challenge under Gregor. All three games will be tricky playing in different conditions. It will be completely different to what most of the guys have sampled before.”
Barclay only joined up with the squad at their St Andrews training base this week after leading club-side Scarlets to victory over Munster in the Guinness PRO12 final in Dublin on Saturday.
The rest of the group have now had two weeks to get to grips with Townsend’s methods after being holed away in Edinburgh and Barclay is keen to reunite with his former Glasgow coach as he looks to continue the success from the final months of Vern Cotter’s reign.
He said: “I’m feeling good, the body’s good. To still be playing at this point of the season and keep my match fitness is pleasing. And to come off the back of the season having won something is good.
“I’ve not trained with the squad yet but I watched training yesterday. I worked with Gregor for a year and you can see already that there’s not huge changes. He’s tinkered with some of the structures and moves and the way we approach things. It’s a breath of fresh air and the other new coaches bring enthusiasm as well.
“Gregor has spoken about looking to build on the momentum built up by Vern, not move away from it. He’s keen to work on things that have gone well while at the same time putting his own stamp on things.
“Gregor is similar to Vern in that they are both very driven and motivated. Both are hugely respected. Hard men with high standards. They maybe have slightly different ways they want to play the game, different ideas.”
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