Peter O’Mahony relishes Lions captaincy

When Peter O’Mahony leads the British and Irish Lions out against the Maori All Blacks tomorrow morning for one of the proudest days of his career, he will pay a debt of gratitude to the leaders who have made him the captain he is.

Lions head coach Warren Gatland knew exactly what he was getting when he named the Munster skipper, 27, in his squad of 41 for this toughest of tours, which reaches the halfway point at Rotorua International Stadium tomorrow.

And those same qualities are why he called the blindside flanker aside at breakfast on Thursday and told him he would be skipper for the tourists in this unofficial “fourth test” against the storied Maori All Blacks.