RUNNERS AND RIDERS TO LEAD THE 2021 TOUR

Warren Gatland has already ensured his place in British and Irish Lions history by overseeing a series win in Australia in 2013 and now this year’s drawn Test campaign in New Zealand. Here, we examine the early candidates to coach the Lions in South Africa in 2021. WARREN GATLAND, WALES AND BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS Wales head coach Gatland has refused to rule out a third successive tour as Lions boss in 2021. The 53-year-old is on the All Blacks’ radar to replace current New Zealand boss Steve Hansen when he retires in 2019. Gatland’s Wales contract expires after the 2019 World Cup, and he could now easily be drafted into the All Blacks set-up in due course. The former Wasps and Ireland boss could opt not to chase a role with the All Blacks however. And were he still available for Lions duty in four years, he would clearly boast the experience and acumen to man the helm once more. EDDIE JONES, ENGLAND England boss Jones, pictured left, has long since joked he will end up on the beach watching cricket in retirement after the 2019 World Cup. And yet in May Jones admitted he would be keen on the Lions role if he were in the right place at the right time when 2021 comes around. “I am open to everything. I don’t sit there at night and think ‘I hope I am going to be the next Lions coach’,” said Jones in May. “Because it is such a unique job there is no natural progression to it. It is a one-off job which is decided at a certain time. And if you are in the market and in the right area then you are going to get a call and get a tap on the shoulder. I wouldn’t say no but I am not saying yes.” Jones will know full well this statement leaves the Lions bosses on alert that he is fully interested in coaching the next tour. DAI YOUNG, WASPS Former Wales and Lions prop Young has excelled with Wasps in an upwardly-mobile coaching career that appears