Lions’ lack of a standout leader hasn’t helped Warren Gatland’s cause

We were told that this was the best-prepared and most talented Lions squad to leave these shores in modern times, but where are the standout leaders? asks Brendan O’Brien.

Warren Gatland has taken all sorts of flak for all sorts of stuff this week but no-one can say the Lions head coach didn’t put everyone on notice when it came to potential on-field leaders and the possibility that his skipper could be wearing an armband one week and a crested blazer and tie the next.

“The captaincy is a great honour but, whoever the captain is going to be, there’ll be no guarantee he plays in the Tests,” he said back in March. “His form has to be good enough. Whoever that person is has to rise to that. The message to that person is: it’s a great honour to captain the Lions but your form has to be good enough to be selected for the Tests.”