Power play: Scotland's Ryan Grant makes a powerful surge against the Springboks at Murrayfield last year

AFTER SWAPPING the army for rugby, Grant has made steady progress through the ranks. Something of a late bloomer, he made his Test debut in Scotland’s win over Australia last summer, has become a regular for his country, helped Glasgow to the Pro12 semi-finals and comes into the squad to replace the injured Gethin Jenkins.

WHY SELECTED
As Richie Gray says in the current issue of Rugby World: “Ryan Grant has been fantastic in the past year and has played unbelievably well in every single game.” He’s a solid presence at scrum time and a powerful carrier.

TEST PROSPECTS
Like fellow replacement Alex Corbisiero, he has everything to play for. Impress in the next few games and he could earn a place on the bench for the series and he’ll want to put the pressure on Mako Vunipola for the No 1 shirt too.

GREATEST DAY
Beating Australia last summer. It was a miserable evening in Newcastle, NSW, but he helped the Scots to grind out a 9-6 win in a tightly-contested affair.

IF HE WERE A FOOD
Melon – refreshing, takes time to ripen.

Red run: Grant is the fourth Scot on tour

FAST FACTS

Club Glasgow

Age 27 (8 October 1985)

Born New York

Dimensions 6ft 1in & 17st 11lb

Country Scotland

Test caps Ten

Test points None

Every 2013 Lions player is profiled in the July edition of Rugby World, with Lions legend Sir Ian McGeechan giving his verdict on each member of the squad. It’s on sale now.