Legendary captain Willie John McBride has thrown his support behind Caelan Doris as the prime candidate to lead the British and Irish Lions in their highly anticipated tour of Australia this summer. McBride, who famously captained the Lions during their undefeated 1974 tour of South Africa, expressed his confidence in Doris during an interview with BBC Sport NI.

"I can't go beyond Caelan Doris, I hope he gets it," McBride stated. "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 participated in five Lions tours and holds a record 17 caps, emphasized that the captaincy "is always a talking point." He reflected on his own experience, noting that during the 1974 'Invincibles' tour, he had "been around quite a long time and I'd learned a lot of the things you should and should not do."

Doris, who first captained Ireland during the 2024 Six Nations and officially took the role for last year's November Tests, has been a consistent presence in the Irish team. McBride believes the 27-year-old has accumulated enough experience to handle the responsibilities of leading the Lions.

"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."

McBride also highlighted that being the best player isn't a prerequisite for being a successful captain. "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 are set to face Argentina in Dublin on 20 June before heading to Australia for the Tests against the Wallabies on 19 July, 26 July, and 2 August. With the squad announcement scheduled for 8 May in London, all eyes are on Andy Farrell to see if he will heed McBride's endorsement and appoint Doris as the Lions' captain.