Wales and the Lions in the professional era

Gareth Thomas took over the captaincy of the Lions in the three Tests in New Zealand in 2005 after tour leader Brian O’Driscoll was injured in the first minute of the first game. Warburton led the Lions in two of the three Tests in Australia in 2013 and Alun Wyn Jones took over in the third Test when he was injured.

It means that Welshmen have led the Lions from the start in seven of the 18 Tests played by the Lions in the professional era. England’s Martin Johnson was captain for six matches in 1997 and 2001, while the Irish trio of Brian O’Driscoll (1^st Test in 2005), Paul O’Connell (3 Tests in South Africa in 2009) and Peter O’Mahony (1^st Test in New Zealand in 2017) led the Lions in the other games.

Welsh representation on the tours has risen from eight in 1997 to a peak of 15 and one replacement in 2013. Squad sizes have generally increased during the period as well and Wales has provided a large proportion of Test players.

Test Players
1997                 4
2001                 6
2005                 8
2009                 10
2013                 12
2017                 8

As far as regional representation is concerned, the Ospreys lead the way with 19 Welsh players and one Irishman, Tommy Bowe, over the four tours that have taken place since the four regions came into being in 2003. Next best are Cardiff Blues, with 13 (+ 1 non playing member in 2017), the Scarlets with nine Welsh and one Irishman, Simon Easterby (+ 1 non playing member in 2017) and the Dragons with four (+ 1 non playing member in 2017).