The television show Outlander, writer and artist Kahlil Gibran, and Perth's mining heritage all found their way into a recent media conference, thanks to Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman. The South Africa-born forward, one of the more philosophical members of the British and Irish Lions squad, dismissed questions about the eligibility of foreign-born players in the team.

Living in the Moment

Schoeman, who has earned 42 caps for Scotland through residency, emphasized the importance of embracing the present. "If you're good enough to play for your country and then you're good enough to play for the Lions and you're selected, obviously you're going to do that," he said. "Scotland is home for us, my wife and myself and other players as well. You embrace that, you fully take that on."

Drawing a parallel to Outlander, Schoeman explained, "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."

Philosophical Insights

Schoeman also referenced Kahlil Gibran, quoting, "Yesterday's gone forever, tomorrow might never come, now is the time to live." He added, "That's what you do as Lions. It's about the now - this tour, that's what really matters."

Focus on Perth

The Lions' second warm-up match in Perth holds special significance for Schoeman. "It was massive for gold mining so we know all about Perth now," he said. "We love Perth. Perth is actually from the Scottish town on Perth. We know some great stats about it. It's the most isolated city in the world."

Schoeman acknowledged the challenge posed by the Western Force, stating, "We respect the Western Force, we know they're going to up the ante. It's a once in a lifetime for most of those blokes. They're going to want to prove they're good enough to go against the British and Irish Lions, so we have to go beyond and prove why we're the British and Irish Lions."

Looking Ahead

After a narrow 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin, the Lions are now focused on their tour matches in Australia. Schoeman is not looking too far ahead, especially with the first Test on July 19. "It's not focusing on what's ahead, it's about now," he said. "You have to feel the responsibility of, what's it like, 50,000 fans or more coming to Australia, so you have a massive obligation, a responsibility."

He concluded, "And if you're not pulling together, there's no space for dead weight on this team. Everybody needs to push in the same direction."