ALUN WYN JONES will captain the British and Irish Lions for their opening Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Welsh lock has almost miraculously recovered from a dislocated left shoulder that had originally ruled him out of the tour and will be making his 10th successive Test appearance for the Lions — the first player to do so in the professional era.

Jones’s inclusion in the starting line-up announced today comes after he played 25 minutes in the Lions’ final warm-up match against the Stormers last weekend, with head coach Warren Gatland and his team seemingly satisfied with his fitness.

“It’s a great boost to the squad and to everyone to have him back,” Gatland said. “It’s great in terms of him making a brilliant recovery to make himself available again. He had to run out the other day and spend some time on the pitch, so it’s fantastic.”