White ‘hasn’t stopped shaking’ after late Lions call-up

After Wales’ Tomos Williams was forced off the field with a hamstring injury in the 54-7 win over Western Force on Saturday, the 27-year-old received a call from Lions head coach Andy Farrell.

White was notified of the news while he was training for the Scottish All Blacks, Fiji, and Samoa national team at the Scotland training camp in Whangarei, New Zealand.

He called me this morning, about an hour ago, and I haven’t shook since. It’s a truly incredible honor. I’m very excited.

White acknowledged that it was challenging to “watch the first Lions squad be announced because he was not selected.

He said, “But it was a memory I can keep in the locker.” I was already aware that I had to do everything in my power to succeed at Toulon.

“I was very excited to be playing for Scotland’s amazing, and I was focused on that.”

Someone must be watching over me upstairs, I suppose. It’s “falling on my feet.”

White immediately called his parents to deliver the news.

He said, “I don’t think they could quite believe it.” They were obviously just extremely proud. It was a fantastic phone call.

You have a dream about it, but you never actually believe you will do it.

After Zander Fagerson was forced to withdraw due to injury, White brings Scotland’s Lions’ 38-man roster back to eight.

It’ll be great to see the Scottish boys and meet the players I don’t know too well, he said, “of course there are a fair few Scottish boys in the squad.”

White was informed that he had been booked on a noon flight to Australia shortly after Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend extended his congratulations.

Without his 25-times capped first-choice scrum-half, Townsend now needs to get ready for Saturday’s game against the Maori All Blacks.

“It was a great honor to be called up to play for Scotland, and being here in New Zealand was amazing,” White continued.