"I think it's funny that one of the youngest guys on the team is the one driving everyone on... The guys is 22 years of age, barking at everyone and driving everyone around the pitch."
Paul O'Connell knew.
At the beginning of the year, following Dylan Hartley's clothesline transgressions, the Lions captaincy battle appeared to have been whittled down to three men. Rory Best, who led Ireland to a November international win over New Zealand, and Welshmen Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones were the frontrunners.
Three games into the championship and the picture is no clearer. Hartley is in a rut, Best was not helped by an opening day loss to Scotland, Greig Laidlaw is injured and Wales have lost two from three games.
As it stands, Wyn Jones remains the favourite [around 2/1] with Rory Best at 4/1. However, the pair are feeling some serious heat from two men that many would have considered at the turn of the year - Conor Murray [7/1] and Owen Farrell [6/1].
Hayley O'Connor of Ladbrokes told The Hard Yards rugby podcast about the big bets being placed on Farrell.
The chat about it starts at the 51:00 mark, tap play below to listen.
https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/episode-5-the-real-nigel-owens-alternative-tactics-ireland-v-wales-and-grand-slam-memories
The Saracens and England back, who can play outhalf or inside centre, toured with the Lions in 2013 and made one Test appearance in the series win over Australia. O'Connell identified Farrell, early on, as a leader on the pitch.
https://youtu.be/rsWxJG6CS34
Farrell has odds have dramatically shortened all the way down to 6/1. As recently as last week, Farrell was 12/1 but there have been some significant bets placed on the English player to lead the Lions.
O'Connor said, "We thought it was a twelve-to-one shot but, just this week, there have been three or four really significant bets coming in for him so he is half that now."
There have also been a number of moderate bets on Murray to lead the Lions after his strong start to the championship.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/837121546695151617
