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The favourite to captain the Lions in 2021

(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Bookmakers have revealed who they believe is the favourite to captain the British and Irish Lions on their 2021 tour of South Africa.

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Owen Farrell and not Alun Wyn Jones is being tipped to get the nod.

WATCH: Big Jim and Goodey are back and joined by Italy international George Biagi and Freddie Burns.

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While AWJ is a traditional favourite of British and Lions coach Warren Gatland, his age profile may make him a longer shot for the role.

Irish bookmakers Boyle Sports have made Farrell a 9-4 favourite to land the prestigious gig, while Jones takes second favourite at 5-2.

Third in the running according to the bookies is Maro Itoje, who is rated at odds 11-2 after a brilliant Six Nations.

Realistically, a sub-par Six Nations for Wales and the fact that Alun Wyn Jones will be a few months shy of his 36th birthday may have played against his chances.

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There of course, COVID-19 allowing, will be another Six Nations in 2021, not to mention the tail end of the 2020 tournament mooted for later this year.

Sam Warburton captained the tour last time out, where the Lions managed a draw in their 2017 tour of New Zealand.

This week the Olympics were pushed back a year due to the global coronavirus pandemic and will now start on July 23, 2021, the day before the first of three tests on consecutive weekends between the Lions and world champions Springboks.

“The priority right now has to be the safety and wellbeing of all those affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic,” Ben Calveley, British and Irish Lions Managing Director, told Reuters on Monday.

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“We are determined to play our part in what will be an extraordinary summer of sport. There should not be any direct clashes with Lions matches and Olympic events given the time difference between South Africa and Tokyo, so fans should not miss out on any action.

“We are expecting a fantastic series against the world champions.”

The clash in dates will narrow the options for the Springbok Sevens side that will compete in Japan, with the likes of wing Cheslin Kolbe, who won bronze in Rio de Janeiro four years ago, otherwise occupied with the 15-man game.

Other players such as loose forward Kwagga Smith and centre Ruhan Nel, who might have hoped to make both teams, will now have to make a choice.

The decision to stick to the dates of the Lions tour, which starts on July 3 with the first of five matches against provincial and invitational sides before the opening test on July 24, at least brings some welcome certainty to arguably the biggest rugby attraction outside of the World Cup.

The World Rugby calendar has many question marks remaining though, with the 2020 Six Nations yet to be completed and the July internationals for this year under threat and likely to be scrapped.

– additional reporting AAP

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Hellhound 51 minutes ago
South Africa player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.


Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.


Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.


They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.


Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.


Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen

4 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

No where to be seen OB!


The crosses for me for the year where (from memory);


This was a really hard one to nail down as the first sign of a problem, now that I've asked myself to think about it. I'd say it all started with his decision to not back form and fit players after all the injuries, and/or him picking players for the future, rather ones that could play right now.


First he doesn't replace Perofeta straight away (goes on for months in the team) after injury against England, second he falls back to Beauden Barrett to cover at fullback against Fiji, then he drops Narawa the obvious choice to have started, then he brings in Jordan too soon. That Barret selection (and to a lesser extent Bell's) set the tone for the year.


Then he didn't get the side up for Argentina. They were blown away and didn't look like they expected a fight and were well beaten despite the scoreline in my opinion. Worst performance of the year in the forth game and..


Basically the same problems were persistent, or even exaggerated, after that with the players he did select not given much of an opportunity, with this year having the most number of unused subs I can remember since the amateur days.


What I think I started to realise early on was that he didn't back himself and his team. I think he prepared the players well, don't get me wrong, but I'll credit him with making a conscious choice in tempering his ambition and instead choosing cohesion and to respect (the idea of it being important in himself and his players) experience first and foremost (after two tight games and that 4th game loss). I think he chose wrong in deciding not to be, and back, himself. Hard criticism.


And it played out by preferring Beauden to Dmac on the EOYT (though that may have been a planned move).


I hope I'm right, because going through all the little things of the season and coming up with these bullets, I've got to wonder when I say his last fault is one we have seen at the Crusaders, playing his best players into the ground. What I'm really scared of now is that not wanting a bit of freshness in this last game could be linked with all these other crosses that I want to put down to simple confidence issues. But are they really a sign that he just lacks vision?


Now, that's not to say I haven't seen a lot of positives as well, I just think that for the ABs to go where they want to go he has to fix these crosses. Just have difficult that will be is the question.

27 Go to comments
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LONG READ Gatland defiant but Welsh rugby no nearer escape route with Springboks looming Gatland defiant but Welsh rugby no nearer escape route with Springboks looming
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