Ireland head coach Andy Farrell appointed Munster backrow Peter O’Mahony as the country’s new captain on Wednesday as the new British & Irish Lions boss began the post-Johnny Sexton era by naming a 34-man squad to defend their Six Nations title.
O’Mahony has captained the side 10 times before, having led Ireland at underage levels before winning the first of his 101 caps. He has also skippered Munster since 2013 and captained the Lions in the opening Test of the 2017 tour.
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The 34-year-old was awarded the armband ahead of new Leinster co-captains Garry Ringrose and James Ryan, who were included in the squad. Given his age, O’Mahony may well lead Ireland for the next two Six Nations campaigns rather than through to the 2027 World Cup.
“Ever since I was a boy starting off in the game, I have always dreamed of captaining Ireland,” O’Mahony said in a statement.
“To be now asked to captain Ireland ahead of the Six Nations is without doubt one of the proudest moments of my life.”
The Six Nations will have a number of new faces front and centre this year after England, France and Wales all named new captains this week, while Scotland have yet to decide on a skipper.
Farrell, who will have to take some time away from the Ireland role next year after he was appointed as head coach of the Lions last week, praised O’Mahony as “a born leader” and a key figure for club and country for many years.
Already facing their first Six Nations in 14 years without their hugely influential former fly-half Sexton, Ireland suffered a double injury blow last week when backs Mack Hansen and Jimmy O’Brien were ruled out of the tournament.
That meant Hugo Keenan and James Lowe were the only fullback and winger available from the World Cup squad, opening up spots for Leinster’s Jordan Larmour, Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale and Munster’s Calvin Nash.
Munster’s Jack Crowley appears poised to replace Sexton at fly-half, with his main rival Ross Byrne also injured. Byrne’s younger brother Harry and his Leinster team mate Ciaran Frawley, with three caps between them, are the other options at 10.
Farrell was able to choose an almost identical group of forwards to the World Cup, with Cian Healy also fit again, while he also opted not to include any uncapped players for the tournament that Ireland begin away to France on Feb. 2.
Ireland’s 34-player Six Nations squad
Forwards:
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University), Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers), Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne), Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere), Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf), Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf), Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne), Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen), Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University), Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution – captain), Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch), Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD), James Ryan (Leinster/UCD), Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne), Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch), Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge), Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)
Backs:
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians), Harry Byrne (Leinster/UCD), Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon), Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution), Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers), Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD), Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College), James Lowe (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor), Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen), Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan)