Skipper.

Munster Rugby head coach Graham Rowntree has issued an update on his new captain, following Peter O’Mahony’s decision to step away from the role last season.

O’Mahony stepped down suddenly early last season, with Rowntree deciding not to imminently name a permanent replacement, with hooker Diarmuid Barron and lock Tadhg Beirne the two who captained the most.

Rowntree is now set to name a permanent replacement for O’Mahony, who held the captaincy for over a decade, with an announcement set to come ahead of Munster’s opening URC game against Connacht in a fortnight.

“Most clubs have a leadership group and I’ve got eight guys in mine,” Rowtree said at a BKT URC Coaches’ Corner roundtable this afternoon.

“I’d like to think I can call on any of them to captain the team and rely on each other’s support.

“Tadhg [Beirne} did a good job, very good. This will be the first time a Munster coach has picked a captain for 10 years.

“There’s no playbook here. I wasn’t going to be rushed.

“I certainly wanted to see a few other guys, candidates to see how they performed and some of them were injured for big pockets of last season.
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“So, I’ve had to take my time. I’m close to announcing who that will be and that will be announced the week of the first URC game.

“I took my time on purpose. In short, I have a very healthy leadership group and they’ll help the candidate that’s named.”