British Lions 2013: Wilko and O'Driscoll give Gatland plenty to ponder

Ralph Ellis
20 December 2012

Will Wilko be kicking for the Lions in 2012

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Legends in search of missing honours, or hungry youngsters gunning for glory on the big stage? That's the choice facing British Lions coach Warren Gatland as he attempts to assemble a team that can compete in Australia next summer...

It’s early for anybody to be betting on the make up of the squad, but that will be one to watch closely in the weeks before the announcement on May 1.

Warren Gatland turned Wales into a World Cup force and Grand Slam champions of the Six Nations by nurturing a team of talented young stars. Now as a new year approaches he has to decide if that is also the best policy for the British Lions.

For the old guard are lining up to make it clear they want a last shot at the one achievement missing from their careers - being part of a winning tour. You have to go back to 1997 for the last time a Lions team returned triumphant from a trip to the Southern hemisphere.

In the last two days Brian O'Driscoll, just back from injury, has thrown his hat into the ring not just to play for Gatland's team in Australia next summer but to be captain of the team too. And then Jonny Wilkinson let it be known that despite having retired from England duty he wants to be considered too.

At 33, Wilko has lost none of the kicking powers that made him England's greatest ever points scorer. He's waiting a month or two before deciding whether to sign a new contract for his French club Toulon, and admitted it might be time to hang up his boots. If he does go then it looks likely he will finish on a high - Toulon are currently clear at the top of the French top 14 table, but more significantly are also one of only three sides with a 100 per cent record in their Heineken Cup pool. With a star studded side it's a surprise they are not favourites to win the competition - and look good value at 4.03/1, just behind Clermont 3.8514/5.

The decision Gatland will have to make, though, is whether he wants to offer Wilkinson a last hurrah, or if he'd rather go with the emerging talent of Owen Farrell whose flair at fly half gave England a different dimension in their pulsating win over the All Blacks - and whose kicking is every bit as reliable as Jonny.

Betfair already has two special markets to cover Gatland's plans. It's early for anybody to be betting on the make up of the squad, but that will be one to watch closely in the weeks before the announcement on May 1. The choice of captain, though, is already sparking more debate.

O'Driscoll's enthusiasm to take the job again - he was skipper for 40 seconds in New Zealand in 2005 before he got injured by that horrific spear tackle - has seen his odds to be announced as captain trimmed to 3.711/4. But not surprisingly it is Sam Warburton, the young powerhouse who is Gatland's skipper for Wales, who is 1.84/5 favourite.

The choice of skipper pretty much sums up the dilemma facing the Lions coach throughout his choices - there are a wave of new young stars emerging for all of the Home Nations and Gatland must decide if he takes a fresh team unscarred by failures on previous tours or gives one last opportunity to the old guard to show they've learned from what's gone wrong before.