Alun Wyn Jones favourite to captain Lions but Farrell should be in contention - O'Driscoll, Johnson

Former captains Brian O'Driscoll and Martin Johnson believe Owen Farrell might compete with Alun Wyn Jones for the captaincy role of British and Irish Lions squad during the upcoming tour of New Zealand in June.

The Saracens fly-half has made tremendous progress in the last one-year under England head coach Eddie Jones and even went on to captain the team during the Six Nations encounter against Wales when regular skipper Dylan Hartley was replaced in the 47th minute of the game.

O'Driscoll, who has been part of four Lions tour and also captained them in 2005, lavished praise on the World Rugby player of the year nominee and believes the 25-year-old has made huge strides for the red rose team.

"Owen Farrell plays at 10 or 12 and for me he's a shoe in for the Test team. I think he has to come into the conversation over the captaincy," said O'Driscoll, who was speaking on behalf of Land Rover, a principal partner of the British and Irish Lions.

"His temperament has improved incredibly. Gone is the narky Farrell. He looks calm and controlled and is playing brilliantly at the moment.

"You don't want to be picking a tour and a Test captain, ideally you want to be picking the same and I still think Alun Wyn is a great pick for that.

"I'd still have him in my Test team and he's been playing well. He gets through an insane amount of work.

"He has that important confrontational style and there's a lot of respect for him in New Zealand, so for me he's still very much the front runner."

Johnson, who led the 2003 World Cup winning England team and also captained Lions believes Farrell will play a vital role in the upcoming gruelling tour of New Zealand but insisted that he might stick with Jones captaining the team.

"Owen has obviously been captain of England at the end of games - he will go on tour and he will be an important part of the leadership group," Johnson said.

"Maybe just let him play, but he could do the captaincy - there's no reason why not.

"A lot can change and he has played very well, but Alun Wyn Jones maybe has his nose in front.

"I don't know him but what he says is very sensible. You nod your head when you read what he says and 'he is right there' he seems like a sensible guy."