Caelan Doris is the man Warren Gatland wants to lead the British & Irish Lions. Most Ireland fans would settle for a captain from any of the 'home nations' if they end up with a healthy contingent in the Test squad. This would be bonus territory.
Caelan Doris had looked the Lions captaincy frontrunner, heading into the 2025 Six Nations, after leading Ireland for the Second Test victory over South Africa, the November internationals and taking over as Leinster captain. That stance solidified after Ireland beat England in Dublin, and Maro Itoje was scolded by referee Ben O'Keeffe, on more than one occasion.
Since then, England have won four games in a row and Itoje has been in impressive form. Doris missed the win over Scotland and got on the wrong side of the referee in the loss to France and, last weekend's away win over Italy. His form has been good, but Itoje has edged ahead in the captaincy race, at least from the outside, looking in.
In a Telegraph piece focused on his Lions XV for the First Test against Australia, this summer, Gatland explained his captaincy logic:
'He might have been a little bit quiet in the last couple of games, but he has been an outstanding forward for Ireland over the last two or three years and has a strong relationship with Andy Farrell. I think he will captain the team as well.'
Gatland also reserved praise for Itoje, and noted how well he dealt with officials in the tournament, as a whole. He stated, 'I felt there was a period where Maro had plateaued a bit and 12 months ago, I was a little bit worried about him because I knew he was quality and wanted to see him dominate the international stage. He is doing that now. It looks like the England captaincy has been good for him.'
Ireland’s Caelan Doris and Maro Itoje of England pictured at the Colosseum in Rome. (Credit ©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
Warren Gatland with eight Ireland stars in Lions XV
England and Ireland, having finished second and third behind France in the 2025 Six Nations, will be expecting high representation in Andy Farrell's Lions squad.
While England have momentum after winning four on the bounce since their opening weekend loss to Ireland, Warren Gatland is still going with a lot of players Farrell knows well.
Gatland has selected eight Ireland players in his Lions team for the First Test against Australia (a thought exercise we rugby followers love indulging in). The team has three England starters, three from Scotland and Jac Morgan as the sole Wales representative.
WARREN GATLAND'S LIONS TEST XV
15. Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
14. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
13. Huw Jones (Scotland)
12. Bundee Aki (Ireland)
11. James Lowe (Ireland)
10. Finn Russell (Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
1. Andrew Porter (Ireland)
2. Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
3. Will Stuart (England)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. Joe McCarthy (Ireland)
6. Jac Morgan (Wales)
7. Tom Curry (England)
8. Caelan Doris (Ireland) captain
Warren Gatland lauded Andrew Porter as being 'a strong scrummager', says Dan Sheehan has 'X-factor, Joe McCarthy has potential to be "outstanding" and Jamison Gibson-Park is impressive.
Elsewhere, in the backline, Gatland notes James Lowe as big and physical, and says Hugo Keenan deserves to start ahead of Blair Kinghorn. On Bundee Aki, who Gatland selected in 2021, he declared 'you know he will get you over the line'.
Other Ireland players mentioned in the piece were Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Tadhg Beirne, Tadhg Furlong and out-halves Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley. Andy Farrell announces his Lions squad, in London, on May 8.
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