Sam Warburton favourite to lead Lions once again

Former Wales captain Sam Warburton is favourite to lead the British and Irish Lions for the upcoming tour of New Zealand in June according to bookmakers.

If he is selected as skipper, the 28-year-old will join former England skipper Martin Johnson as the second player to have led Lions for the second successive time after he successfully captained them to 2-1 series victory in the 2013 series against Australia.

Warburton stepped down from the role as Wales skipper ahead of the Six Nations 2017 tournament with Alun Wyn Jones taking over but Cardiff Blues head coach Danny Wilson believes the 6 ft 2 in flanker has all the attributes to inspire the team them to a victory against Steve Hansen's men.

"When you think of the Lions and the amount of top-quality players and leaders that they will have, there will be more than one guy leading the ship," Wilson said.

"There will be leaders right across all areas, on and off the field.

"What Sam brings as a leader is he leads by example. That is probably his biggest trait.

"His work ethic, his professionalism, the way he conducts himself on and off the field is an example that people follow."

Warburton is currently recovering from a knee injury that he sustained while playing for Cardiff Blues against Ulster but is set to return to action before the team departs to New Zealand on 29th May.