Rugby: British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has listed Jamie Heaslip as a potential captain for the touring side in Australia next summer.
The Lions captaincy is arguably the greatest honour that can be bestowed on any player from the four home unions, and marked out the likes of Willie John McBride and Martin Johnson as the finest rugby leaders of their generations.
The likes of Wales captain Sam Warburton, who is struggling for his best form, England counterpart Chris Robshaw, and Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O'Connell (captains in 2005 and 2009 repsectively) have been mentioned as candidates to lead the Lions Down Under, although a decision will not be revealed until the squad is named in the spring. Gatland has hinted the door remains open for other hopefuls.
“I thought someone like Heaslip now has captained Ireland in the last couple of games, and puts himself in the frame, doesn’t he? I think there’s a lot of potential options," said the Kiwi. "The ideal thing, number one, is having a captain whose form is good enough, he’s got the respect of the rest of the squad and you’d like to think his form is going to be good enough to get selected in a test series. That’s your preference.”
Gatland and his coaches will draw up provisional Lions’ squads next month and before and after the Six Nations. The coach insists experience is not necessarily a prerequisite and named Ireland and Ulster wing Craig Gilroy, who scored a debut try against Argentina last weekend, as an example of a youngster who could play himself into the reckoning.
“Nothing is crystalised at the moment,” said Gatland. “We’re looking at the players who have reputations, form and pedigree, and seeing where they are at, and then who are the youngsters who are putting their hand up at the moment that potentially who might not have been in the frame a while ago. A very obvious example from last week and the Ireland game was Craig Gilroy on the wing. He was outstanding. So he’s put himself into contention.”
Gatland, who was speaking at the adidas launch of the new Lions shirt for the 2013 tour, has also faced questions over whether he would be prepared to select players plying their trade with French clubs.
Steffon Armitage, Andrew Sheridan and Jonny Wilkinson have all played superbly for Toulon this season, with Wales’ Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins and James Hook also cross-Channel candidates.
The French Top 14 final takes place on June 1st, the same day the Lions begin their tour with a fixture against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, and Gatland’s preference is for all players to already be with the touring party for that game. But the former Ireland, Wasps and Waikato boss also hinted that fitness issues may also have a detrimental impact on the Lions aspirations of those based in France.
“We had an experience with Mike Phillips on the weekend (against New Zealand) where he was blowing after 52 minutes and we had to get him off," he said. “He was not there, and playing in France you run the risk of not being looked after in terms of our standards and expectations. They have a different philosophy out there. They are quality players, but the preparation and approach is different."
