Caelan Doris might be the hot tip for the Lions captaincy but former England skipper Chris Robshaw believes one of his Ireland teammates could be the perfect candidate for the role.

While Leinster and Ireland skipper Doris ticks a lot of the boxes to lead Andy Farrell’s side, Robshaw has given his backing to Munster’s Tadhg Beirne.

The 33-year-old toured with the British & Irish Lions in South Africa in 2021, and took over the Munster captaincy from Peter O’Mahony at the start of this season.

And Robshaw believes that his versatility makes him a real dark horse to lead the tourists in Australia this summer.

“Tadhg Beirne, I think he’s a brilliant player,” said Robshaw, who is part of a 34-strong TV team delivering the Champions and Challenge Cup for Premier Sports, the new broadcasters of international club rugby's premier competitions.

This Saturday Beirne's Munster side host Saracens for a seismic Investec Champions Cup clash on Premier Sports and Robshaw added: “Tadhg probably my outside bet for the Lions captaincy. I think he’s that player, who more than any other, is guaranteed to start.

“He can play second row or six, he captains Munster, he’s brilliant on the field, he carries, he’s great in the lineout, his breakdown work is phenomenal for such a big man, his reload to get back to his feet is so quick.”

Doris has emerged as the leading candidate to follow in the footsteps of Alun Wyn Jones, who captained the side four years ago against the Springboks.

Capable of playing across the back row, Doris is most comfortable at No.8, while Beirne has featured regularly at international level, both in the second row and at blindside flanker.

And for Robshaw, that versatility makes him a strong candidate, increasing the likelihood that he will be a Test starter while not ruling out any other players in the squad before the tour has even started.

He added: “I think he would be my pick if I was going to make the call of Lions captain. There is probably not one person in a position who is so far ahead in the way that a Brian O’Driscoll would have been in the past, a player who was head and shoulders ahead of the rest.

“Maybe (scrum-half) Jamison Gibson-Park, but is he that kind of captaincy material? Finn Russell perhaps? But again, would you given him the captaincy? Maybe not.

“So for me, someone who can play both second rows, can play six, at a stretch he could play eight. He’s got captaincy experience and I’m sure he’s in the leadership group for Ireland as well. I think he would be a really good pick.”

Beirne will have a chance to prove his worth this weekend when Munster host Saracens in the Investec Champions Cup in a huge encounter at Thomond Park on Saturday with all the action live on Premier Sports from 5.15pm.

Sarries are two from two in the competition, and will be looking to win on Saturday before they welcome Castres to the StoneX Stadium in round four.

Munster, meanwhile, fell to a narrow defeat to the French side in their last Champions Cup encounter, and need a win before travelling to Northampton Saints in their final game, with Beirne set to play a big role in those two games.

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