Jones has been the subject of speculation after his poor form last season saw him miss out on selection for the original British & Irish Lions tour party, having been tipped by many to lead the tourists after captaining Wales to a Grand Slam in 2008.

Jones has returned to form on the domestic stage in Magners League victories over Glasgow and Edinburgh and Gatland has assured him that if his form is good enough then the "captaincy takes care of itself."

"Ryan Jones played one of the best games I've seen him play for a long time at Glasgow," Gatland told BBC Wales. "And he's backing that up with a good performance against Edinburgh.

"There has been a lot of speculation of his Wales captaincy chances and I've never said anything about it because I've always said I've been very happy with the way he has captained Wales. The first thing is to ensure his form is good enough to get selected in the team then the captaincy takes care of itself."

Cipriani is "undergoing acute injury management" while fullback Lachlan Mitchell is suffering the effects of mild concussion after his try-saving tackle against Northampton and will follow a strict five day protocol to return to action this week.

Racing Metro will begin their campaign without Sebastien Chabal after the charismatic back-row picked up a knee injury on domestic duty last weekend. Chabal will miss both of their opening games and former All Black fly-half Andrew Mehrtens is also a doubt for the trip to Wasps with a sternum injury.

Hayes was sent off for a stamp on Leinster's Cian Healy during the Magners League showdown at the RDS last weekend but McGahan believes there was no malicious intent from the Irish stalwart.

"We feel that he was just trying to find the ground with his foot," McGahan said. "We certainly feel confident that John will be held in high regard as he is and his record will speak for itself."

The Springbok is joined on the sidelines by wing Bryan Habana, who has been rested despite having recovered from an injury worry to his hamstring. Lock Bakkies Botha returns to Currie Cup action for the first time this season after joining up with the squad this week.

Williams also toured with the British & Irish Lions to South Africa in 1954-1955, playing eight games on tour.