“Playing for the Lions is massive”- Pierre Schoeman hits back at critics on overseas Lions

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The 31-year-old has openly stated that he has every right to play for the Lions, where he also noted all the other foreign-born players in the squad have as well. 

Eight players were born in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the Lions squad. Some critics, such as Willie John McBride, said on the matter that it “bothered” him, whilst recently retired Danny Care noted “it doesn’t sit that well with me”.

In the case of Schoeman, he represented South Africa U20’s back in 2014, but has reassured that playing for the Lions is “massive” ahead of Andy Farrell’s side's first outing Down Under against the Western Force on Saturday.

“If you’re good enough to play for your country, you’re good enough to play for the Lions, and you’re selected, then obviously you’re going to do that,” said Schoeman. 

“Playing for the Lions is massive. Scotland is home for us, my wife and myself. I know that’s for the other players as well, like Mack Hansen, who has made Ireland home.

“You embrace that. You fully take that on. It's like Outlander. You move to a different country and now that's your house. You live there. You buy into the culture and now to represent the British and Irish Lions, you fully buy into that, you fully submerge into that.

"Nothing else matters, not your past, not the future, it's about the now.

“Kahlil Gibran says it in one of his books quite well and that is 'yesterday's is gone forever, tomorrow might never come, now is the time to live. That’s what we do as Lions. It’s about the now, this tour. This is what really matters.”