Ahead of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour, we take a look back at the players who have led the famous touring team since 1993.
It’s a huge honour for any player to represent the side, but even more so to captain the team.
Here are the last eight players to captain the Lions in a Test match and how they fared.
Gavin Hastings – New Zealand 1993
Sir Ian McGeechan and Dick Best opted to go with back-to-back Scottish captains for the 1993 British and Irish Lions tour with Gavin Hastings leading the side in New Zealand after success with Finlay Calder in Australia four years prior.
Hastings skippered the side in all three matches against the All Blacks, playing through the pain of a severe hamstring injury in the second Test.
After losing the first Test 20-18, the Lions bounced back to beat New Zealand 7-20 in Wellington but were outplayed in the Series decider as the All Blacks ran in four tries to claim a 30-13 victory.
It was the Scottish legend’s third and final tour, having also earned selection in 1986 and 1989.
Martin Johnson – South Africa 1997, Australia 2001
After earning a late call-up to the squad in 1993, lock Martin Johnson was handed the honour of captaining the Lions in 1997 despite never doing so for England before then.
Johnson played a pivotal role up front in downing the Springboks as the Lions emerged 2-1 series victors, winning the first Test 16-25 and the second 15-18. The Lions would lose the dead rubber finale 35-16 in Ellis Park with Johnson starting all three matches.
Four years later and Johnson became the first man to captain the British and Irish Lions on two tours as he was named as the skipper for the tour to Australia.
However, this time around he was not as successful as the Lions would lose the Series 2-1. The tourists claimed a convincing 13-29 victory in the opening Test at the Gabba but failed to back that up, falling to a 35-14 defeat to the Wallabies in Melbourne and then losing 29-23 in Sydney.
Brian O’Driscoll – New Zealand 2005
Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll was a straightforward choice for the British and Irish Lions captaincy in 2005 but his tour was infamously cut short by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu in the first Test.
O’Driscoll would go on to match in two Tests in 2009 and 2013, with controversy following him again in the latter when he was dropped by Warren Gatland for the decider, with Jonathan Davies favoured.
Gareth Thomas – New Zealand 2005
After O’Driscoll was ruled out of the remaining two Test matches against the All Blacks, Welshman Gareth Thomas was handed the honour.
The Lions would ultimately lose all three Tests against New Zealand, with a young Dan Carter producing a masterclass in the second match, scoring two tries, four conversions and five penalties in the 48-18 victory.
Paul O’Connell – South Africa 2009
McGeechan returned to coach the Lions in 2009 and followed his template from the successful tour to South Africa 1997 naming a powerhouse lock to lead the side in Irishman Paul O’Connell.
The second-rower was tasked with combating the Springboks’ world-class lock pairing of Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield and for the most part rose to the challenge in a bruising Test series with the second game producing one of the most brutal battles in Lions history.
O’Connell led the side in all three Tests, losing the first 26-21, the second 28-25, before winning the last 9-28.
British & Irish Lions squad announcement, LIVE: Our blog of a massive day at The O2 in London
Sam Warburton – Australia 2013, New Zealand 2017
New British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland produced somewhat of a shock decision at the time when he named Sam Warburton as his touring captain in 2013.
The Welsh flanker would become the young Lions captain at the age of just 24. He led the side to a 21-23 victory in the first Test before losing the second 16-15. Warburton missed the final game through injury but would reprise the role in New Zealand four years later.
While he was named as the skipper for the tour to New Zealand, he was included on the bench for the opening Test against the All Blacks losing his starting role to Sean O’Brien with New Zealand emerging 30-15 victors. He became the first tour captain not to play the first Test in 87 years.
However, he returned to the starting XV for the last two Test with the Lions winning the second 21-24 before drawing the third 15-all as the Series ended in a stalemate. In doing so, Warburton became the first Lions captain to lead the side on two tours and avoid a Series defeat twice.
Peter O’Mahony – New Zealand 2017
With Warburton included on the bench for the first Test match against the All Blacks, Irishman Peter O’Mahony was entrusted with captaining the side in the first Test match.
However, after losing the opening game, O’Mahony was dropped from the matchday squad entirely for the remaining two Test matches.
Alun Wyn Jones – Australia 2013, South Africa 2021
When injury hit Warburton for the final Test match of the 2013 Lions Series, Gatland entrusted Alun Wyn Jones with the honour of seeing the touring side to victory as they claimed a 41-16 Series-winning result.
Jones played in all three Test matches in 2009, 2013, 2017 and remarkably 2021 when he was given the leadership role full-time.
The second-rower captained the side against Japan, a match that did not earn Test status, where he dislocated his shoulder which threatened to rule him out of the tour to South Africa. However, he recovered in time to resume the captaincy and take his Test cap tally with the Lions to 12.
The side fell to a 2-1 defeat to the Springboks, winning the first Test before going down in the last two.
READ MORE: British and Irish Lions squad announcement: How to watch, what time, TV channel and live stream
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/british-and-irish-lions-captains-of-the-famous-touring-team-and-how-they-fared
