Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones is the favourite for the British & Irish Lions captaincy this summer, that’s according to England’s World Cup-winning skipper Martin Johnson.

The former Leicester Tigers man named five Wales players in his Lions XV from the second round of action in the Six Nations, with the new Welsh captain standing out to Johnson as one of those names that Warren Gatland will be considering for the leadership role this summer, in New Zealand.

Jones took over from 2013 British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton as the Welsh leader just a few weeks ago.

He made ten tackles and 12 carries in Wales’ narrow loss to England on Saturday, and while the stalwart did not dominate the second row Twitter conversation as much as opponents Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury, Johnson has liked what he’s seen so far.

“The harshest critic you should always have is yourself, and I think he’s like that,” Johnson said of the 31-year-old two-time Lion.

“I thought he did very well, whenever he did something he was impactful, running forward with the ball, he was involved with some big tackles defensively.

“I picked him in my team of the week because I thought he did very well.

“He’s up there in the captaincy debate. He’s been around and done it. I don’t know the guy but what he gives off is an aura of a sensible guy, a leader, an honest, hard-working guy.

“Even without meeting him you get that sense of what he’s about and he all looks the part, so he’s definitely in the mix.”

And what of Jones’ predecessor at the Welsh helm?

Johnson feels Warburton will always be in contention for a seat on the plane, but that he still has some way to go to inking his name on Gatland’s squad list.

He may have won two turnovers on Saturday, but he also missed four tackles to go with his 14 made, and made just nine metres from eight carries.

And his performance warranted just a five per cent share of the back row Twitter chatter from this weekend’s games, with Johnson agreeing he still has work to do.

“The back rows are always competitive because the better players get put there, because you can have an influence,” added the 46-year-old former England head coach.

“A lot of captains come out of the back row, a lot of all-time great names.

“He’s a good player. He’s been there and done it, he knows what it’s all about. He’s just got to get himself above the opposition, and there is some in terms of getting on the Lions Tour.

“But if he’s still got the fight in him, that’s what he’ll respond to.”

Ken Owens, Rhys Webb and Jonathan Davies also made Johnson’s home nations team of the week, with the Wales hooker quietly going about his business while generating next to no interest on social media - despite his eight carries, two defenders beaten, and 16 tackles.

The hooker was beaten on tackles made only by Justin Tipuric, with the flanker making an impressive 19, to go with ten carries and three lineouts won.

Again though his numbers went unnoticed by those with a second screen to hand, but teammate Webb did get some recognition for his performance.

The scrum-half made one clean break, beat two defenders and gained 23 metres from nine carries, prompting Twitter to give him a 29 per cent share of the weekend’s number nine conversation.

“I put Webb in this week because I thought he was dangerous and dynamic and a handful, exactly what you want as a forward to have with you, and not what you want against you,” Johnson added.

“You had to be aware of him all the time.”

It was Ross Moriarty who captured the public’s attention the most, though, with the No. 8 topping the Twitter charts for his position, with a 49 per cent share of the conversation.

And despite Johnson naming Scotland’s Josh Strauss as his No. 8 of the weekend, he was still impressed with the Welshman.

The English-born 22-year-old made 11 tackles, one offload and ten carries against England, with Johnson liking the passion shown by the Gloucester Rugby man.

“I thought he really got into the vibe of an England versus Wales games, and he would do, he’s got the heritage,” he concluded.

Martin Johnson is an Ambassador for British & Irish Lions Principal Partner Standard Life Investments.