Munster to name captain ahead of United Rugby Championship opener against Connacht

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree said the new club captain will be announced ahead of the upcoming United Rugby Championship against Connacht to be played on 21st September.

With Peter O’Mahony stepping down from captaincy early last season, Tadhg Beirne and Diarmuid Barron filled the role though an official announcement is yet to be made by the club.

"Most clubs have a leadership group and I’ve got eight guys in mine,” said Rowntree.

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

“Tadhg 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.

“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’ve a very healthy leadership group and they’ll help the candidate that’s named.”