Blair Kinghorn injury sparks fears of selection crisis as British & Irish Lions beat battling Brumbies - 'He did well to stay on for a while'
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Published 09/07/2025 at 14:11 GMT+1
With the first Test against Australia just 10 days away, the sight of Blair Kinghorn limping off the pitch against the Brumbies was a worrying one for British & Lions fans. The full-back was replaced midway through the first half after struggling to move properly following a knock to his knee. With few other No. 15 options in the squad, the Lions will hope the injury is not serious.
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The British & Irish Lions’ injury woes deepened as full-back Blair Kinghorn limped off in the first half of Wednesday’s 36-24 win over the Brumbies, just 10 days out from the first Test.
Kinghorn, widely tipped to be the starting Test full-back for the three-match series against Australia, joined the tour late after winning the French Top 14 with Toulouse.
He debuted on the wing against the Waratahs on Saturday, but his first appearance in the No. 15 shirt lasted just 25 minutes before he was forced off.
The Scotland star appeared to pick up a knock to his left knee early in the encounter and was eventually replaced by Marcus Smith after being in visible discomfort.
Ice was strapped to Kinghorn’s leg on the bench and the Lions now face a nervous wait to discover the severity of an injury that could create a selection crisis.
Lions assistant coach John Dalziel attempted to dampen any fears when speaking to Sky Sports at half-time, insisting the decision to take Kinghorn out of the game was a matter of caution.
"He got a knock and felt it stiffen up a little bit there. He did well to stay on for a while," Dalziel said.
"At this stage in the tour it’s just being precautionary. We’ve got fresh bodies on the bench ready to go so I’m sure Marcus will give us a kick."
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Blair Kinghorn of the British & Irish Lions looks dejected after being injured and is replaced during the tour match between ACT Brumbies and the British & Irish Lions at GIO Stadium on July 09, 2025 in Canberra, Australia. (
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Kinghorn’s injury will cause alarm as it follows Elliot Daly’s tour-ending arm break, leaving full-back options limited.
Hugo Keenan made his first start in the position against the Waratahs and is the only other natural full-back in the squad, but the Ireland man has had issues of his own, having missed the first few games of the tour with a calf injury before illness ruled him out of the Reds match.
Smith covered full-back against the Brumbies and has experience there for England, but his natural position is fly-half.
Asked about the injury at full-time, head coach Andy Farrell said: "Hopefully it is not too serious. He said someone landed on his knee, he was walking around."
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Lions elite fail deliver stop-start performance
A more pressing concern for Andy Farrell might be another unconvincing performance from the Lions despite fielding what appeared to be his strongest Test-ready team.
The Lions conceded an early try for the fourth time in five matches as Brumbies No. 8 Tuaina Taii Tualima powered over the line from close quarters after just four minutes.
The handling errors, breakdown woes and sloppy mistakes that have been a theme of the warm-up matches continued to bedevil the Lions early on.
When it did click, there were some slick moments to enjoy. Ollie Chessum dotted down in the corner from a delayed Finn Russell pass to draw the Lions level and, after James Lowe was held up over the line, the Irish wing finished a flowing team move to edge the Lions ahead.
The Brumbies struck back through Corey Toole, but Smith’s score with the final play of the half sent the Lions in with a 19-10 half-time lead.
A superb try started and finished by Garry Ringrose extended the tourists’ lead early in the second half, but the spirited Brumbies would not go away and Hudson Creighton got them back in it soon after.
The scale of the contest the Lions found themselves in against the Super Rugby side was underlined when Russell elected to kick a penalty in front of the posts on the hour mark rather than go to the corner.
Substitute Josh van der Flier rolled over the line from the back of a maul as the Lions responded, but once again the Brumbies came back hard, as Liam Bowron reduced the gap to 12 points with five minutes to go.
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