Alun Wyn Jones expected to be named Lions captain

It is widely expected that Welsh stalwart Alun Wyn Jones will be named captain of Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad to be announced on Thursday. 

The three main names in the captaincy conversation are Maro itoje, Owen Farrell and Jones. It was a very tight race in the minds of most people until the 2021 Six Nations, where Jones showed his true quality while Farrell and Itoje had somewhat disappointing campaigns in an under-firing England unit. 

The 35 year-old recently became the most-capped test player in history with a staggering 157 appearances for Wales and the Lions. 

Jones started in all three tests on the 2017 Lions tour to New Zealand and, despite his age, has shown no sign that he is losing his edge. 

Interestingly, however, former England skipper Dylan Hartley has come out and said that Itoje should get the armband.  

'Everyone's wondering where Alun Wyn Jones is, and he's the back-up to Mr Maro Itoje,' Hartley said. 

'They're both workhorses. They're both annoyingly good workhorses. So if one of them gets injured or you want to bring a like-for-like on, they're very similar grafting players.' 

Despite Hartley’s opinion, the general consus seems to be that Jones will get the nod from Gatland on Thursday.