Former Lions tourist Geordan Murphy will captain Leicester Tigers once again this season.
The 2005 Test Lion led the Tigers to Guinness Premiership glory in May and has now been confirmed as the club’s captain for the forthcoming campaign.
Murphy, who is now entering his 14th season at Welford Road, will be looking to make it three English titles in a row when the reigning champions kick off their title defence at Northampton Saints on Sunday afternoon.
“Geordan will captain the side again,” said Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill, who tasted success with Murphy as a player alongside the likes of Lions legends Martin Johnson and Neil Back.
“He’s done an excellent job in the last 18 months as captain. He has huge experience in rugby and a great knowledge of the game.
“We’ve got a number of senior players and leaders in the squad who will also play their part.
“Louis Deacon has captained the team a number of times, and then there are guys like Tom Croft, Toby Flood, Anthony Allen, Dan Hipkiss and Jordan Crane, younger players who have a lot of experience and are maturing and coming through now. They can all lead on the field.”
A Test Lion in the third international against New Zealand six years ago, Murphy has made more than 260 appearances for Leicester since his debut season back in 1997.
The 32-year-old captained Ireland against the New Zealand Maori on their recent summer tour of the southern hemisphere and he admits he remains honoured to be asked to lead his club side.
“It is a huge honour to captain Leicester Tigers and I’m very happy to do it,” said Murphy.
“You never think you deserve to be captain, but it is definitely a privilege to do it at this club.”
