Peter O'Mahony's ten-year reign as Munster captain is officially over, with the 34-year-old announcing on Wednesday that he would step aside ahead of the upcoming Champions Cup openers.
In a statement published on the Munster website, O'Mahony said that captaining Munster had been a dream come true, and that he hoped to give the same guidance to his successor as he received from the likes of Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara.
Which leads to the pivotal question - who will be the next Munster captain?
There are numerous options among the Munster squad with international experience and leadership traits. You would expect that the role will go to a more experienced player but, lurking in the shadows, Craig Casey may well be the right man for the job.
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Craig Casey would be the perfect fit to take over as Munster captain
4 November 2023; Craig Casey of Munster during the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Dragons at Musgrave Park in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
If you're looking for someone deeply embedded in Munster rugby, you'd be hard pressed to find a better option than scrum-half Craig Casey.
The Limerick man has been a Munster fan since his childhood - we don't need any excuse to resurface the iconic photo of former Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer holding Casey as a child.
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Safe to say Munster rugby is in Casey's blood, but a captaincy call does naturally go much deeper than just a surface level attachment to your team.
Looking a bit deeper is where Casey's strengths really become apparent.
Still only 24, the scrum-half is in his fifth season of pro rugby, and already has 13 Ireland caps and over 60 appearances for Munster. With Conor Murray turning 35 next year, the starting scrum-half spot is Casey's for the foreseeable future.
His impressive number of Ireland and Munster appearances combined with his relative youth make him the perfect balance between experience and a pick for the future as Munster captain.
The character of a player is, of course, what will ultimately tip the scales one way or another when decisions such as these are made.
Here, once again, Casey is an outstanding candidate.
Well-liked among the players both with Munster and Ireland, Casey already stands out as a confident and assured presence on the pitch, and would surely not be fazed by the pressure that comes with the Munster captaincy.
The Shannon club man is cut from the same AIL mould as previous Munster captains such as Axel, Paul O'Connell and, of course, Peter O'Mahony, and is embedded in the culture of rugby in the province.
Casey's position as a scrum-half also places him at the centre of most plays while in possession, putting him in the perfect spot to call the shots and take control of Munster attacks.
We were given a hint that Munster may at least have Casey in mind for some kind of leadership role, when he represented the province at the launch of the 2023/24 Champions Cup.
SZN 2023/24 😮💨
Who you backing to lift the #InvestecChampionsCup? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/v8BwSY944r— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) November 22, 2023
There is every chance that the coaching staff will look elsewhere. Diarmuid Barron captained the side in last week's victory over the Stormers, while Jack O'Donoghue is another candidate many will tip. The experience and commitment of Tadhg Beirne is also hard to look past.
But, if Munster want to balance a pick for the future against the safety of experience, it's equally hard to turn down a punt at Craig Casey as the province's next captain, after a decade of service from Peter O'Mahony.
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