Lions' Welsh connection to face Wallabies LONDON, April 30 AAP-AFP- British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland is backing his Welsh connection to bring glory against the Wallabies after Sam Warburton was named captain for the tour of Australia. Wales star Warburton was on Tuesday chosen to lead the Lions for the first time and will be joined by 14 other Welshman for the tour, starting in June. There was no place in the 37-man squad for former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, despite his recent form for Toulon, or England captain Chris Robshaw. But there was a shock with former England prop Matt Stevens named to come out of retirement as one of six props in the squad. Stevens was suspended for two years in 2009 after a drugs scandal and retired from England duty after the 2011 World Cup. Tuesday's squad featured 10 Englishmen, nine Irishmen - including former Lions captains Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell - and three Scots, including New Zealand-born winger Sean Maitland. Wales flanker Dan Lydiate was included despite having seen little first-team action this season because of injury. Warburton relinquished the Wales captaincy during the recent Six Nations because of a mixture of injury and the form of fellow flanker Ryan Jones but has been given the armband by Gatland, who is also the Wales coach. But despite reservations over his captaincy credentials - and the fact Wales have lost all eight of their eight Tests against the Wallabies in the past two years - Gatland is adamant he's the man for the job. "I think in the last two years he's been the most successful captain in the northern hemisphere," the New Zealander said. If we named the Test side tomorrow, at this stage Sam would be one of the names in the starting XV. I've got a huge amount of respect for Sam in terms of he's an absolute professional, he leads front he front and I think he'll do a fantastic job. Warburton, 24, was told he would be captain more than a week ago and admitted he found it hard keeping it to himself. "It's unbelievable, an accolade few people are able to achieve," said Warburton, who will become the youngest tour captain in Lions history. Gatland said leaving the likes of Robshaw and Wilkinson out had been tough but said injuries could yet lead to late call-ups for those omitted from the original squad. The Lions are looking for their first series win since defeating South Africa in 1997. "We've seen already how tough competition Australia are going to be with how dominant their provincial sides have been in Super rugby," Gatland said. It's going to be a great tour and we go there with the ambition of coming back with a series victory. A squad of 16 backs and 21 forwards - with Warburton one of 25 first-time Lions - will begin a 10-match tour against the Barbarians on June 1. The Lions then travel to Australia and play the first of three Tests against the Wallabies on June 22. This will be the Lions first tour of Australia since a side coached by Gatland's compatriot Graham Henry, New Zealand's 2011 World Cup-winning supremo, lost a three-Test series in 2001, 2-1.