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Published 22:23 28 Oct 2020 GMT
Updated 22:25 28 Oct 2020 GMT
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"You look at lots of factors. You look at strength in depth in certain positions. You want the captain, if their form is good enough - and there are never any guarantees - to be one of your players in the Test team... You have to have that honest conversation with the captain and say, 'You'll be selected as tour captain but there's no guarantee you'll be selected in the Test side'."Right now, Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell would be favourites to get the captaincy nod, but Gatland name-dropped a few Irish players too.
"I don't know if I could rattle of the names of potential captains," Gatland says, before doing just that. "Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, Maro Itoje, James Ryan, Justin Tipuric, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Jonathan Davies, Stuart Hogg, Stuart McInally, Fraser Brown."Former Ireland and Lions captain Paul O'Connell has already named Ryan and Sexton as players he feels are "nailed-on" to make the touring squad, so to hear them named as potential captains is a further boon. It is interesting to hear Conor Murray in that list of potential captains, but Gatland does rate the scrumhalf very highly and brought him on the 2013 and 2017 tours. On Sexton, Gatland says he would have no issues bringing an outhalf who would be 36 next summer on tour with him. "It's not about the future, it's about the here and now," says Gatland. "Johnny has managed himself really well and this autumn it will be interesting to see how Ireland do in terms of that. Then obviously the (2021) Six Nations. Probably, for Johnny, his biggest challenge in recent years is being able to string a number of games together. He's had niggles and knocks, and a few head knocks as well. "That's where we will be looking at it from. There's no doubt about his experience and leadership and his qualities as a player. When I look back on that 2017 tour, he didn't have the greatest start but then came back well. That's what world-class players do."
Warren Gatland was speaking on behalf of Canterbury at the launch of the British & Irish Lions Pro jersey available at Canterbury.com
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