TADHG Beirne will continue his role as captain at Munster, coach Clayton McMillan has confirmed.
Beirne, who was named Player of the Series in this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, assumed the captaincy role last season.
He is one of just eight players who has been named as permanent captain in the past 30 years of professional rugby.
Pat Murray, Mick Galwey, Jim Williams, Anthony Foley, Paul O’Connell, Doug Howlett, and Peter O’Mahony are the previous captains.
McMillan said: “I was delighted for Tadhg to continue as team captain.”
“He is a world-class player and his level of performance never drops, that’s something I’ve been really impressed by.
“Tadhg led the team superbly last year and feels that he learned some really valuable lessons.
“He had the honour of captaining the Lions for their game against the Waratahs in the summer and he’s continuing to grow in confidence as a captain.
“Along with Tadhg, we have lots of leadership throughout the group among the senior players and the emerging young players so he has plenty of support in the leadership group.”
Tadhg joined Munster from Scarlets in 2018 and quickly established himself as a vital player for province and country.
He made his Ireland debut against Australia in June 2018 and played his first game for Munster against Glasgow in September 2018.
The 33-year-old has scored 10 tries in 93 appearances for Munster, winning a URC title in 2023.
He has scored 12 tries in 61 appearances for Ireland and five tries in 12 appearances for the British & Irish Lions.
Munster begin the new season with an URC at Scalets in Wales on Saturday, 5.30pm.
