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Munster announce new 'world-class' captain

Jack Crowley, left, and Tadhg Beirne of Munster during the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Glasgow Warriors at Musgrave Park in Cork. (Photo By Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Munster have unveiled Ireland forward Tadhg Beirne as their new captain heading into the new season.

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The 32-year-old has spent the last six seasons with Munster since joining from the Scarlets in 2018, making 76 appearances.

Despite captaining Munster for much of last season after Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony stood down from the role in November last year, the lock-cum-back row has officially been named captain by head coach Graham Rowntree, who described his new skipper as “world-class”.

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Beirne is a mainstay in both the Munster and Ireland pack, and has made 52 appearances for Ireland since his debut in 2018, with a further five for the British and Irish Lions.

Munster get their United Rugby Championship season underway against Connacht on Saturday at Thomond Park.

Fixture
United Rugby Championship
Munster
35 - 33
Full-time
Connacht
All Stats and Data

“It’s a huge honour to be named as captain of Munster Rugby and to lead a great group of players into the new season,” Beirne said.

“I have had a fantastic six years here and it’s an incredibly proud moment for me and my family.

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“Very few people have had the opportunity to captain Munster Rugby, and it’s a massive honour to follow in the footsteps of some incredible players and leaders.

“I had the privilege of leading the team a number of times in the past and the job was always made easier by the amount of leaders we have in the squad.

“We have a very tight-knit group and it means a lot to me to lead the squad as captain for the season ahead.”

Rowntree added: “Tadhg is a world-class player who always leads by example. He is the right man to lead Munster into the new season.

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“A player of his calibre commands respect and he has grown into a key leader for us since coming here in 2018.

“As a 52-cap Ireland international and British and Irish Lion, he demands the best out of everyone and drives standards within the group.

“He is an extremely calm presence on and off the field. It was very impressive to see how he was able to perform at his usual high level while captaining the squad in a number of big games last season.”

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Tom 1 hour ago
England player ratings vs South Africa | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

That 2019 performance was literally the peak in attacking rugby under Eddie. If you thought that was underwhelming, the rest of it was garbage.


I totally get what you're saying and England don't need or have any God given right to the best coaches in the world... But I actually think the coaches we do have are quite poor and for the richest union in the world, that's not good enough. 


England are competitive for sure but with the talent pool up here and the funds available, we should be in the top 3. At the very least we should be winning six nations titles on a semi-regular basis. If Ireland can, England definitely should.


England's attack coach (Richard Wigglesworth) is Borthwick's mate from his playing days at Saracens, who he brought to Leicester with him when he became coach. Wigglesworth was a 9 who had no running or passing game, but was the best box kicker in the business. He has no credentials to be an attack coach and I've seen nothing to prove otherwise. Aside from Marcus Smith’s individual brilliance, our collective attack has looked very uninspiring.

 

England's defence coach (Joe El-Abd) is Borthwick's housemate from uni, who has never been employed as a defence coach before. He's doing the job part time while he's still the head coach of a team in the second division of French rugby who have an awful defensive record. England's defence has gone from being brutally efficient under Felix Jones to as leaky as a colander almost overnight.


If Borthwick brings in a new attack and defence coach then I'll absolutely get behind him but his current coaches seem to be the product of nepotism. He's brought in people he's comfortable with because he lacks confidence as an international head coach and they aren't good enough for international rugby.


England are competitive because they do some things really well, mostly they front up physically, make a lot of big hits, have a solid kicking game, a good lineout, good maul, Marcus Smith and some solid forwards. A lot of what we do well I would ascribe to Borthwick personally. I don't think he's a bad coach, I think he lacks imagination and is overly risk averse. He needs coaches who will bring a point of difference.


I guess my point is, yes England are competitive, but we’re not aiming for competitive and I honestly don't believe this coaching setup has what it takes to make us any better than competitive.


On the plus side it looks like we have an amazing crop of young players coming through. Some of them who won the u20 world cup played for England A against Australia A on the weekend and looked incredible... Check out the highlights on youtube.

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