Peter O'Mahony handed Ireland captaincy for Six Nations

Peter O’Mahony is set to captain Ireland this Guinness Six Nations in their title defence, with head coach Andy Farrell describing him as a “born leader”.

The Munster flanker was one of the leading candidates to replace Johnny Sexton as Ireland’s skipper after the fly-half retired after the World Cup.

The 34-year-old will lead a settled squad as Ireland aim at winning back-to-back titles, with no uncapped players in the squad. On top of that, there are only eight players with fewer that ten caps in the 34-player squad.

Sale Sharks Alex Sanderson on pitch-side coaching

Sale Sharks Alex Sanderson on pitch-side coaching

There are, however, three uncapped ‘Training Panellists’, which includes Munster’s London-born prop Oli Jager. He is joined by Munster teammate Thomas Ahern, as well as Leinster No10 Sam Prendergast.

After naming his squad, Farrell said: “The forthcoming Men’s Guinness Six Nations presents an opportunity for us to grow and develop. The Six Nations is one of the biggest stages in world rugby and this year’s competition will be keenly fought. I am pleased with the quality of performances by the extended group over the last number of weeks and believe that the squad is in good shape. I would like to congratulate all those who have been selected, especially those who are at the beginning of their international journeys. It doesn’t get much tougher than France away in the opening weekend, but it is a challenge that we will approach in a positive frame of mind.

On Ireland’s new captain, Farrell said: “To our new captain Peter O’Mahony, he is a born leader and someone who has been an influential figure for Munster and Ireland for many years. I am confident that the squad will continue to benefit from his leadership skills, both on and off the field. He is thoroughly deserving of this honour, and I know that he will relish working closely with the wider leadership group and squad over the coming campaign. I would like to congratulate him and his family at this special time.”

This is set to be a Six Nations of new captains, with Jamie George, Gregory Alldritt and Dafydd Jenkins being appointed captains of England, France and Wales, respectively, for the first time, with the captain of Scotland and Italy yet to be confirmed.

Ireland’s new captain O’Mahony said: “Ever since I was a boy starting off in the game, I have always dreamed of captaining Ireland. I have been asked to lead Ireland on a number of occasions previously, and each of those 10 matches were special days. To be now asked to captain Ireland ahead of the Six Nations is without doubt one of the proudest moments of my life and I would like to thank Andy for this show of faith in me.

“We have a strong core of leaders who will all play a key role in driving the highest standards for the team over the coming weeks. Competition is red hot across the squad and we’re all hugely motivated to work hard when we meet up next week ahead of the opening game in Marseille.”

Ireland get their title defence underway with a trip to Marseille on February 2 to face France.

Ireland 34-player squad
Forwards (19)
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University)(15)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(36)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(46)
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)(41)
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(36)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(72)
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf)(125)
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)(79)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)(26)
Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen)(4)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)(5)
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(101) (captain)
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch)(12)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(59)
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)(59)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(21)
Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch)(2)
Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge)(3)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(57)

Backs (15)
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(52)
Harry Byrne (Leinster/UCD)(2)
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon)(13)
Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(9)
Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD)(1)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(30)
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers)(71)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(36)
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(30)
James Lowe (Leinster)(26)
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor)(15)
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen)(112)
Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster)(1)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(57)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan)(37)

Training Panellists
Oli Jager (Munster)*
Thomas Ahern (Shannon/Munster)*
Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
* denotes uncapped player