TOUR MANAGER ANDY Irvine expects no repeat of the 2001 controversy when the Lions return to Australia this summer.

Coach Warren Gatland named his 37-man squad yesterday, including nine Irish representatives, for the tour which culminates in a three-Test series against the Wallabies.

The Lions’ last trip down under ended in a 2-1 defeat but the tour was overshadowed by in-fighting and public rows between players and coaches.

Anxious to avoid a repeat, Irvine kept a close eye on the players being considered by Gatland and his selectors but said that there was no need to veto any choices.

“I said from the very beginning that I wouldn’t interfere in selection. In the modern game it’s not just an art form, it’s a science. The detail that these guys go into really is quite incredible.

The only area I might have interfered is if they had picked a controversial character who might have been a risk to the tour in a personality sense, someone that was so high profile that there would be a media circus following them. That never arose. It didn’t even look like it this time.

From my previous experience it’s very important that you got to have a good set of tourists, you’ve got to have a good set of guys. I’m very confident that there’s not one in that tour that comes close to being a concern.

Players will be issued with social media guidelines while on tour with the Lions but Irvine stressed that they will not be treated like children.

“Social media these days as you know, you can make a mistake and it can be around the world in seconds. We do have a protocol that we’ll be following.

“It’s not as if we’re headmasters telling kids what to do. There’s an opportunity for players to have a look at it and accept it and understand it.

“It takes years to build up a good reputation but you can lose it in seconds. We’re alert to that.”

Wales skipper Sam Warburton was named yesterday as Gatland’s Tour captain and said that keeping the news a secret was a tough task.

I’ve known for about nine or 10 days so not telling anyone has been very difficult. It made me realise how many times I’ve lied to people who were close to me as well who’ve asked me if I know whether I’ve got the captaincy or not.

I’m absolutely thrilled. When I first got the captaincy for the Welsh team, I was probably a bit anxious and nervous. This time around it was just sheer joy. I went down the stairs probably punching the air with delight.

Even close family have asked me and I’ve had to lie to them. The boys at the Blues when we’ve been training have tried to catch me out all the time but I think I’ve done a decent job in not letting it slip.

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