British and Irish Lions: Willie John McBride backs Caelan Doris for captaincy

Legendary captain Willie John McBride feels that Caelan Doris is the best candidate to lead the British and Irish Lions in Australia this summer.

Head coach Andy Farrell will name his captain and squad in London on 8 May ahead of the three Tests with the Wallabies.

Ireland back row Doris and England second row Maro Itoje have been touted as possible captains for the tour.

“I can’t go beyond Caelan Doris, I hope he gets it,” McBride, who captained the Lions on their undefeated tour of South Africa in 1974, told BBC Sport NI.

“He obviously has the honesty and loyalty of the players around him.

“He is decisive on the field, and I think the other thing is that he keeps a good rapport with referees. That is very important.”

McBride, who went on five Lions tours and won a record 17 caps in the famous jersey, said the captaincy “is always a talking point”.

He added that he was lucky for the 1974 ‘Invincibles’ tour of South Africa that he had “been around quite a long time and I’d learned a lot of the things you should and should not do”.

Doris first captained Ireland captain in the 2024 Six Nations and officially took the position for last year’s November Tests, but McBride believes the 27-year-old “has enough experience”.

“He’s been in there quite a while now in the Irish team and captained them quite a bit,” McBride added.

“He knows all the in’s and out’s, the dos and don’ts. I’m sure Andy Farrell will keep him right.

“You don’t have to be the best player in the team. Certainly, when I was captain, I wasn’t the best player in the team.

“But it’s a matter of getting them to work together and as a team.”

The Lions face Argentina in Dublin on 20 June before travelling to Australia. The Tests against the Wallabies are on 19 July, 26 July and 2 August.