Peter O’Mahony has stepped down as Munster captain after a full decade in the role. O’Mahony first captained Munster in a competitive game on September 3rd, 2011 at the age of 21 in just his 12th appearance for the province and has led the side 130-plus times since succeeding Doug Howlett on a permanent basis ahead of the 2013/14 season following the departure of Doug Howlett.
After nine trophyless campaigns, the 2022/23 season was O’Mahony’s 10th as squad captain and ended with that triumph in the final over the Stormers in Cape Town as he lifted the URC title with Keith Earls after a victory over the Stormers. He has also captained Ireland and the Lions.
Now 34, it makes sense for him to pass on the baton.
“Captaining Munster has been a dream come true for me,” he said in a statement issued by Munster. “I grew up watching and idolising the Munster team and in particular the people who were leading the team, people like Mick Galwey, Jim Williams then on to the likes of ROG and Paul (O’Connell), who I had the privilege of playing with at the start of my career.
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“I can remember the day I was asked to be captain like it was yesterday and discussing it with Paul to get his approval. From that day to this it’s been an utter privilege and has never been something I’ve taken for granted.
“However, having given a huge amount of thought to it, I think it is the right time to step back from the role to share my experiences and give the same guidance that I received when I took on the role. What an unbelievable honour it has been ... and will always continue to be.”
In the aftermath of Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat by New Zealand, O’Mahony spoke aloud about whether he would continue to play Test rugby, but although he is unlikely to be around in four years’ time, it could be that the flanker will be asked to captain Ireland this season by Andy Farrell.
There are not too many obvious alternatives. In O’Mahony’s absence this season, Jack O’Donoghue captained the side in the opening three games, although both players suffered injuries in last Saturday’s 10-3 win over the Stormers and Munster have still not issued any update on the results of their respective scans. In their loss away to Ulster, Diarmuid Barron captained Munster for the first time.
Graham Rowntree and the coaching team will select a new squad captain “in due course”, and paying tribute to O’Mahony, the head coach said:
“You couldn’t pick a better leader than Pete and he has been a fantastic captain for this club.
“To lead Munster from such a young age and for so many years speaks volumes of his ability as a player on the pitch and a person off it.
“He commands huge respect and will still be a massive leader within the group. To have someone of Pete’s experience on hand to help us with the succession process is invaluable.
“We have a strong leadership group within the squad and will confirm a new squad captain in due course.”
