Gatland defends Jones omission

Warren Gatland has delivered a blunt verdict on Ryan Jones’ omission from the Lions squad, declaring: “There is no favouritism.”

A total of 13 Wales players will feature in the Lions’ South Africa-bound tour party.

But Ospreys forward Jones, who led Wales to the RBS 6 Nations title and Grand Slam a year ago, is not among them.

He joins fellow Six Nations skippers Mike Blair (Scotland) and Steve Borthwick (England) in missing out on the 10-match trip.

The political fall-out could be considerable in Wales, especially as Lions forwards supremo Gatland runs the national side.

But no-nonsense New Zealander Gatland said: “There is no favouritism.

“Selection is not about captains or countries. The squad has been picked on form and he is not playing well enough at the moment.

“I hope he will take his disappointment on the chin and I am sure he will continue to work hard.”

While Jones is left to reflect on where it all went wrong, five of his Ospreys colleagues – Lee Byrne, Shane Williams, Mike Phillips, Adam Jones and Alun-Wyn Jones – will make the trip.

But EDF Energy Cup winners and Heineken Cup semi-finalists Cardiff Blues eclipsed that figure, as Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins, Martyn Williams and Andy Powell all gained selection.

As for Jones’ omission, Wales attack coach and Lions assistant Rob Howley added: “The last three or four weeks, Ryan will admit he has not been playing to his potential.”

Jones can expect to be on the Lions’ standby list – most tours produce at least seven injury casualties – but in the short term he is likely to captain Wales’ two-Test North American tour this summer.

For wing wizard and 2008 world player of the year Williams, though, there was cause for relief following a poor campaign when he failed to hit last season’s heights.

Gatland revealed it had been a close call whether Williams made the final cut, despite his Welsh record of 46 Test tries.

Speculation was rife he might even fail to make the Lions cut but Lions assistant and Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards underlined Williams’ match-winning ability.

“He is a player who has done it in the white-hot environment of Test rugby,” said Edwards.

“With the amount of attention that Shane gets in Wales, we can take him away and concentrate on his rugby.

“Shane Williams can be a thorn in South Africa’s side.”

Edwards also revealed 20-year-old Halfpenny’s electric display for the Blues in last weekend’s 50-12 rout of Gloucester at Twickenham – he scored two tries - underpinned his selection.

“His performance last Saturday was exceptional,” added Edwards. “He also played extremely well in the autumn Tests.”

Acclaiming his team’s Lions representation, Blues head coach David Young said: “We are delighted for all the players from our squad that have been selected but also feel for the ones that didn’t make it.

And Welsh Rugby Union chairman David Pickering said: “Rugby in Wales is in a good place – we are going from strength to strength and intend to continue in that vein.

“The Irish were deserved and impressive Grand Slam champions in the end and they rightly make up a large proportion of the Lions tour party but Wales has not been overlooked.

“The performances of the Blues in the EDF Energy Cup, and so far in the Heineken Cup, have caught the eye and it is no surprise that six players from that region have been selected.

“Teams can win one-off games in World Cups and other competitions but to come out on top in a series like this when a squad is gathered together from a number of nations is against all the odds.

“But the magic of the Lions is that it’s possible and that is what makes the British and Irish Lions tours so very special.”