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Doris admits he's 'honoured' to be named Irish captain

Ireland captain Caelan Doris said he is honoured to be named captain of the Irish rugby team for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.

The Mayo native was awarded the armband by Andy Farrell, who named his Ireland squad for the games this week.

Doris was previously named Ireland captain for the Six Nations test against Italy last spring, as well as the second test against South Africa last summer.

Speaking on the IRFU website, the Ireland and Leinster star admitted that he was extremely proud to lead the squad into battle for the series of games this November.

“It is an enormous honour to be named Ireland captain, and I am excited about leading the squad into battle over the coming weeks. I am very fortunate to have had so much support from my family and friends, as well as many others along the way from Mayo to Blackrock and on to Leinster and Ireland," said Doris.

“I am extremely proud to lead this squad, and I know that there’s an experienced group of leaders who will work hard to achieve success in the weeks ahead. We have a special group of players, and I am confident that there are bright days to come as we build up for four huge Tests at Aviva Stadium.”

Captain Caelan! 🫡#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/cPnJZIj55W

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 23, 2024

Peter O'Mahony, Ireland’s previous captain, is facing a race against time to return for Ireland’s first game against New Zealand on November 8.

Losing the captaincy isn’t easy, but the Cork native is a consummate professional and shared a classy response on social media after Ireland’s team was announced this week. The Munster legend posted a graphic of the team announcement, offering congratulations to Doris, the new Ireland captain.

“Looking forward to November, and big congrats to Caelan Doris,” said O'Mahony on his Instagram story.

The Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High-Performance Centre next Monday before departing for a warm-weather training camp in Portugal to prepare for the opening game against New Zealand on Friday, November 8.

Ireland will then face high-flying Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, November 15, followed by Fiji on Saturday, November 23. They will conclude with a match against Australia for Irish Rugby’s 150th Anniversary Test on Saturday, November 30 (kick-off 3:10 p.m.).

All of these matches will be live on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland and TNT Sports in the United Kingdom.

IRELAND SQUAD

Forwards (19): Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris (captain), Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Dave Heffernan, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Cormac Izuchukwu, Rónan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier

Backs (16): Bundee Aki, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale

Training Panellists: Thomas Clarkson, Alex Kendellen, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, and Gus McCarthy