Gatland shares a joke with head coach Ian McGeechan during the announcement of the 2009 British & Irish Lions © Getty Images

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Warren Gatland had little sympathy for Wales skipper Ryan Jones after he was left out of the British & Irish Lions squad to tour South Africa this summer.

Wales boss Gatland was part of the Lions selection panel that rewarded 13 of his players with a chance to take on the Springboks this summer but Jones was not amongst them.

The omission of the Ospreys forward represents a dramatic fall from favour for the player who led Wales to the Six Nations title and Grand Slam a year ago and was rated favourite to lead the elite tourists following the autumn internationals.

Instead he will join fellow Six Nations skippers Mike Blair (Scotland) and Steve Borthwick (England) on the sidelines when the Lions embark on their 10-match trip in May.

No-nonsense New Zealander Gatland said, "There is no favouritism. Selection is not about captains or countries. The squad has been picked on form and he is not playing well enough at the moment. I hope he will take his disappointment on the chin and I am sure he will continue to work hard."

The Lions' defensive coach Shaun Edwards offered some hope to Jones that he might yet make the tour as a replacement for any injured player but that decision would rest with head coach Ian McGeechan.

"He is the sole selector of the team," he said. "The form of the Ospreys recently hasn't been great, so that probably didn't go in Ryan's favour," he explained. "But traditionally there are always injuries and I'm pretty sure that Ryan will be fit and ready if someone does get injured to get on the next plane."

While Jones is left to reflect on where it all went wrong, six of his Ospreys colleagues - Lee Byrne, Shane Williams, Mike Phillips, Adam Jones, Tommy Bowe and Alun-Wyn Jones - will make the trip.

But Anglo-Welsh Cup winners and Heineken Cup semi-finalists Cardiff Blues match that figure, as Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins, Martyn Williams and Andy Powell all gained selection.

As for Jones' omission, Wales attack coach and Lions assistant Rob Howley added, "The last three or four weeks, Ryan will admit he has not been playing to his potential."

Jones can expect to be on the Lions' standby list - most tours produce at least seven injury casualties - but in the short term he is likely to captain Wales' two-Test North American tour this summer.

For wing wizard and 2008 world player of the year Williams, though, there was cause for relief following a poor campaign when he failed to hit last season's heights. Gatland revealed it had been a close call whether Williams made the final cut, despite his Welsh record of 46 Test tries.

Speculation was rife he might even fail to make the Lions cut but Lions assistant and Edwards underlined Williams' match-winning ability.

"He is a player who has done it in the white-hot environment of Test rugby," said Edwards. "With the amount of attention that Shane gets in Wales, we can take him away and concentrate on his rugby. Shane Williams can be a thorn in South Africa's side."

Edwards also revealed 20-year-old Halfpenny's electric display for the Blues in last weekend's 50-12 rout of Gloucester at Twickenham - he scored two tries - underpinned his selection.

"His performance last Saturday was exceptional," added Edwards. "He also played extremely well in the autumn Tests."