Jones admits shock at O’Driscoll call

Alun Wyn Jones was as surprised as everyone else when he learned he was to captain the British & Irish Lions but the Wales lock insists he is ready for the responsibility of leading his side into the must-win third Test.

Jones, 27, only learned of his promotion yesterday morning and like most people outside of head coach Warren Gatland’s inner circle, was expecting Brian O’Driscoll to lead the Lions into the series decider against Australia at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Saturday morning.

“No inkling,” the Ospreys second row said of the news. “There were still other candidates available for selection. I was told this morning. At the same time people were notified they wouldn’t be selected. So it’s been a strange morning. But the session is out of the way and it’s just back to work now, essentially. I don’t want to change anything. I just want to keep going the way I have been going, on a personal level. I’m not going to tell the backs how to kick or to pass or to run. It’s a case for me to do what I’ve been doing with the others in the pack and hopefully bring the win.”

Jones, who played all three Tests alongside then Lions captain Paul O’Connell in 2009 against South Africa, said he had learned some valuable lessons from those skippers he had played under and also from his captaincy of the Ospreys and when deputising in the role for Wales.

“You can get swept away with it, say too much, try too hard. I’ve been there and done that in the past for the Ospreys. In the first year of captaincy there I learnt a lot but I’ve had a couple of years since and it’s been going well for me. So I will just carry on with what I’ve been doing at the club.

“I know the next question will be it’s a different circumstance, a big game and all the rest of it, but set that aside, it’s just another rectangle of grass on the other side of the world.”

Jones said he and O’Driscoll had not exchanged too many words since the announcement but both men were committed to getting the right result for the Lions on Saturday. “He just congratulated me, simple as that. Nothing more has been said. He is very professional and just got on with the job in training this morning.”

Likewise the fit-again Jamie Roberts, who replaced O’Driscoll in midfield, with Jon Davies switching from inside to outside centre, was all business about the player he partnered in two Tests back in 2009.

“Warren has picked the team he thinks will beat Australia. That changes week in, week out, with injuries and performances,” Roberts said.

“Thousands of people have said it before me and thousands of people will say it after me, Brian is one of the most incredible players I have played with or against in rugby union.

“He will be remembered as a Lions legend, I am sure. Brian is a leader, I’ve tasted that playing alongside him. He’s a force, and it is up to me and Jon now to lead the way in midfield and take that responsibility and thrive under the pressure. There is no bigger stage to play on. It’s a Lions deciding Test match, it’s all or nothing, and this is the time you have to deliver.”