Sam Warburton 'an absolute professional' - Gatland
Warren Gatland says Sam Warburton's professionalism and leadership skills are the reasons he selected him as his captain.
In the last two or three years he's been the most successful captain in the Northern Hemisphere.
I have a huge amount of respect for Sam. He's an absolute professional and he leads from the front.
Gatland admitted it had been tough to leave out the likes of Robshaw and Wilkinson.
There was a robust debate about the squad and there were healthy discussions for every position.
Some real quality players have missed out. We had a thorough process and it's been tough.
He did offer hope to those left out, however, saying: "If you look at previous tours, six to eight players get injured and there will be a group of back-up players who can be called upon."
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Lions 2013: Gatland names 15 Wales players
Warren Gatland has named a 37-man squad to take on Australia in this summer's Lions tour.