British and Irish Lions: Alun Wyn Jones ruled out of South Africa tour as Conor Murray is named captain

Embed from Getty Images

Alun Wyn Jones will miss the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa through injury with Conor Murray captaining the side in his absence.

The Welsh forward dislocated his shoulder after just seven minutes as the British and Irish Lions got off to winning ways in their first warm-up match against Japan in Edinburgh.

Jones will now miss the upcoming test series against South Africa, in what would likely have been his final Lions tour.

Ireland scrum-half, Murray- who has toured twice previously with the Lions- has been named captain.

Head Coach Warren Gatland described Jones’ injury as a big loss but believes Murray will lead the squad with excellence.

“Alun Wyn will obviously be a big loss.

“Conor is an outstanding player and is regarded highly by both players and coaches. As a three-time Lions tourist, he knows what will be required as captain and I’m certain he will lead the squad with excellence.”

Justin Tipuric has also been ruled out of the tour after sustaining a shoulder injury in the opening game with Adam Beard and Josh Navidi called up as replacements.

Debutants Josh Adams, Duhan van der Merwe, Robbie Henshaw and Tadgh Beirne scored tries on Saturday, as the Lions opened their summer account with a 28-10 win over Japan.

The squad fly out to South Africa and Gatland has less than a week to prepare the Lions for their second warm-up match against Emirates Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.

It’s the first time in 12 years the Lions have toured South Africa, and captain Murray will be hoping to lead them to a test victory against the World Cup holders, something they were unable to do in 2009.

Embed from Getty Images

The Springboks’ preparation for the summer test has been dealt a blow after the whole squad were been put into isolation due to three positive Covid-19 tests.

Vincent Koch, Sbu Nkosi and Herschel Jantjies all tested positive in the latest round of PCR tests, and as a precaution, Sunday’s planned training session was cancelled.

SA Rugby have announced a decision on further team activities will be made shortly, with Jacques Nienaber’s side due to play Georgia in their opening warm-up match on Friday.

South Africa have named eight uncapped players in their 46-man tour squad which includes nine players from the Gallagher Premiership, five of those play for Sale Sharks.

The Springboks have only lost once in their last 12 matches, a defeat which came at the hands of New Zealand in their opening match of the 2019 World Cup.

The British and Irish Lions will play four warm-up matches in South Africa before their test opener against the Springboks on July 24th.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt