Tug-of-war for B&I captaincy begins

Wales captain Ryan Jones faces a tough battle to be named as British and Irish Lions captain for next year as previous captain Brian O'Driscoll from the 2005 tour says that he also wants the job.

Wales captain Ryan Jones faces a tough battle to be named as British and Irish Lions captain for next year as previous captain Brian O'Driscoll from the 2005 tour says that he also wants the job.

O'Driscoll was meant to be captain for the last Lions tour in New Zealand but as he only lasted about one and a half minutes he missed out on getting blamed for the Lions' failure to win a match.

The centre was spear-tackled by New Zealand captain Tana Umaga and hooker Keven Mealamu who escaped being cited for the incident due to a lack of footage being available before the cut-off time.

O'Driscoll has been named as Ireland captain again and in an interview earlier in the year he spoke of the disappointments in his career and that he realises that he he only has a few chances left to make amends for past failures.

Determination then, will not be a problem for the Irish star.

Last season was one of the low points for O'Driscoll as failed World Cup and Six Nations campaigns ended badly after they were entered into with high expectations. He has now lost weight and and has been working hard on the areas of his game he felt were letting him down.

While there are other contenders for the Lions captaincy such as Munster lock Paul O'Connell, Ospreys Ryan Jones, Scotland captain Mike Blair and England captain Steve Borthwick, O'Driscoll has been putting in the best performances on the field.

Lions Head Coach Ian McGeechan watched O'Driscoll and his Leinster team mates smash his London Wasps two weekends ago and which prompted him to give O'Driscoll a big verbal boost for the Lions job.

“As we stand, O'Driscoll is one of the stronger candidates, as all the national captains are because they are captains of their countries and have to come into the equation,” McGeechan told the Western Mail.

“I saw that he has been announced Ireland captain again and he has experience.

“When we announce a squad of around 65 players next January, you probably have got half-a-dozen strong candidates for Lions captain.

“What we will be looking at is how they are performing and then make a decision come April time.”

O'Driscoll himself says that if he was offered the job he would gladly accept it.

“It's not something I have put a huge amount of thought into but I'm sure it's something, if I get asked, I wouldn't turn down,” explained O'Driscoll.

“My first priority has been to get my game right. I have lost the best part of a stone and feel fit.

“I have been working hard on my game, working on the things I feel I struggled with last season, and I have really been enjoying it.”

O'Driscoll had made a name for himself domestically prior to the 2001 Lions tour but shot to world fame on the tour to Australia.

In the first Test, the Lions demolished the Wallabies and at half-time in the second Test they were leading and looked certain to take the series. History shows that the Wallabies went on to win the second Test and the third, handing them the series.

For O'Driscoll, and many others, the 2005 tour to New Zealand was forgettable.

The 2009 tour would give O'Driscoll a chance to win a Lions tour and a chance to redeem himself but he is not looking at things in that way.

“I'm not looking at it as unfinished business. I would really love to be part of a winning Lions tour,” he said.

“I have been on two Lions tours, to Australia and New Zealand, and we have lost both series.

“Personally, I felt we got away from what the Lions is all about in New Zealand.

“I remember being a teenager watching the 'Living with Lions' video of the 1997 tour of South Africa.

“It was fantastic and gave me a hunger for wanting to be involved in big-time rugby, seeing the crack of being involved and what it was all about.

“You really forget how big the Lions is during the intervening years between tours.

“But the year it comes about, you think about what it means and the huge following it has.

“It's something I want to be involved in again. For those on the tour it's going to be a treat and a fantastic opportunity.

“If the Lions can get the sort of bond they had in 1997 and the balance right they can win a Test series for the first time since beating South Africa all those years ago.”