British and Irish Lions: Andy Farrell may strike deal for Top 14 stars

Head coach Farrell said that there are as many as six players in contention for the Lions captaincy, with the skipper not learning of his appointment until shortly before the squad’s announcement on 8 May.

“There are maybe four, five, six on the list,” he said.

“When you narrow it down – this is the right number to fit the schedule and what you need and which hybrid players can play in different positions – then you consider who are the leaders within that, what are the dynamics of a leadership group and who is going to be capable of being themselves and comfortable in and around all that.

“It takes a little bit of a process, rather than diving straight in.”

Ireland captain Caelan Doris, England skipper Maro Itoje and Wales counterpart Jac Morgan are all contenders.

Farrell also confirmed that his coaching staff are still to decide their individual responsibilities.

He unveiled Simon Easterby, Richard Wigglesworth, John Dalziel, Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty as his assistants earlier on Wednesday.

Wigglesworth and Goodman oversee England and Ireland’s attack respectively.

“The conversations have started and the next time we meet, we will start piecing the jigsaw together,” said Farrell, who did not rule out adding more staff to his coaching ranks.