Six Nations: Ireland captain Paul O'Connell delighted to be staying with Munster
By Tony Tighe
Thursday 30 January 2014 16:36, UK
Image:Chris Robshaw and Paul O'Connell pose with the Six Nations trophy
Ireland captain Paul O'Connell believes his decision to stay at Munster and shun a move abroad will help prolong his career.
Experience
O'Connell was handed the captaincy by head coach Joe Schmidt ahead of last November's internationals and the veteran lock acknowledges that his job is made much easier by the number of experienced players in the current Ireland squad.
He explained: "Sometimes it can be very tough when you're captaining an inexperienced squad and there isn't a lot of help and leadership coming through from young guys who are just trying to break into the team.
"I think the Irish set-up at the moment is very different to that. You have Jamie (Heaslip) and Brian (O'Driscoll), who have both captained Ireland. Brian has captained the Lions as well.
"You've Rory Best who does it up in Ulster, Peter O'Mahony does it in Munster, and Jonny Sexton is also a potential captain.
"For me, it's not a bad squad to be captaining at the moment because there is a lot of resources there, including an excellent coaching staff."
