Matt Dawson has shared his thoughts on who should captain the Lions (Image: Getty/ BBC)
icon Ken Owens and former ace Matt Dawson were in agreement about who the “first name on the teamsheet” for the British & Irish Lions should be. Ireland coach Andy Farrell will take charge of the summer tour, which sees the Lions head to Australia. It comes after both Ireland and England missed out on Six Nations glory at the hands of France, who confirmed the Championship with a thumping final weekend win over Scotland.
In the aftermath of the Six Nations concluding, Owens and Dawson were discussing who coach Farrell should pick as the captain for the Lions tour. Speaking to , Dawson made the case for Maro Itoje. He said: “Maro Itoje is the captain for me.
“I know I said it at the beginning of the tournament, but he has just got better and better week by week. He is obviously one of those guys who shoulders responsibility, his energy and effort on the field today [vs Wales on Saturday] was very inspiring.
“And given how competitive that back row is going to be, potentially, it might make life a little bit easier for Andy Farrell to have someone like Maro as captain, as opposed to [Caelan] Doris.”
Maro Itoje should be the Lions captain, according to Owens and Dawson (Image: Getty)
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There was no disagreement from Owens, who replied: “You want your captain to be the guy who is first name on the teamsheet and I think with [Caelan] Doris having a slight injury this Six Nations and Ireland’s form dipping a little bit, I think Itoje gives you a presence.
“He’s grown as a player, you saw that today [vs Wales]. He’s making big calls and I’ve been lucky enough to play with him on tours. Its that level of professionalism but from everyone else [too]. The detail he puts into everything, he’s really put his hand up as the captain.”
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The Lions are set to face several teams during their tour of Australia, including the Wallabies as part of a headline three-match Test series. Prior to heading out to Australia, the Lions will welcome Argentina as part of a warm-up match, with their first match down under scheduled to be against Western Force.
After that, it’s meetings with Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies, before they take on a side made up of Australian and New Zealand players.