Itoje can be my leader: Gatland

Hamilton: Warren Gatland has hinted that Maro Itoje could captain the Lions on next year’s tour of South Africa.

The four previous Springbok series have all been captained by locks — Willie John McBride, Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson and Paul O’Connell — and Gatland claimed Itoje has all the credentials.

“He’s an intelligent player and an intelligent man and has been incredibly successful in his career,” said Gatland.

“He would definitely be in contention as one of the possibilities as captain.

“It’s about picking the squad and then saying who do we think will be captain material. Ideally, it’s somebody who has come from a team that’s been pretty successful. The next question is if we were picking the Test team now, is there a good chance this person would make that Test team?”

Owen Farrell and Alun Wyn Jones have also been touted for the role. The Lions are scheduled to take on the Springboks in July 2021until later in the year.

Daily Mail