Alun Wyn Jones has officially been named as British and Irish Lions captain.
Former Wales boss Warren Gatland, heading up his third Lions series as head coach this year in South Africa, has turned to his Welsh lieutenant to guide the squad as they face the world champions.
This will be Jones' fourth tour, having played a key role in 2009, 2013 and 2017.
The 35-year-old Osprey has been the favourite to lead the squad since taking Wales to a Six Nations title in March, with England second-row Maro Itoje seen as the other main captaincy candidate.
Jones has won a world record 157 international caps and has featured in the last nine Lions Test matches, including when he led the side to victory as captain in the third Test against Australia in 2013.
You can follow the full Lions squad announcement live here now.
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Jones said: "I'm very proud and very privileged. To be selected in the squad is initially what you want as a player so to have the armband is a privilege.
"I had a call from Gats on Sunday evening. It was actually a missed call so I thought I better give him a call back. Obviously I accepted."
Gatland called the decision to name Jones as his skipper “relatively easy”.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with him for a number of years, he was the only player in the Welsh squad who was there before me, so he’s had a huge amount of experience,” he said.
“I think the last few years he’s done an incredible job in terms of leading Wales. He has captained a Lions team in the third Test in 2013, which was a pretty good performance.
“For me, picking someone who comes from a team that’s won the Six Nations, who has respect, has been there and done that, it was a relatively easy decision.”
