Former Ireland, Munster and Lions captain Paul O'Connell has commended the leadership skills of Sam Warburton and compared him to the late Anthony Foley.
Warburton was confirmed as the tour captain to New Zealand this summer on Wednesday and the Irish legend spoke glowingly about the Welsh flanker. Speaking to BBC Radio 5, he said: "Foley was one of my first captains in Munster.
"Very often there was plenty of other people chatting and barking and staying on top of people, but when he picked his moment to speak everyone listened.
"It was probably the same in 2013 in Australia - Sam didn't say a lot. Myself and a few others were chirping at people and staying on top of people a little bit, but when Sam elected to speak you could hear a pin drop."
Despite not playing the deciding test due to injury, Warburton's squad beat Australia 2-1 in the test series to claim a first series win since the South African tour in 1997.
And here it is, your class of 2017 #AllForOne
👉 https://t.co/358xeA0FCT pic.twitter.com/c7xDXoJE7h
— British&Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) April 19, 2017
Warren Gatland named 41 men in his squad to take on the reigning back-to-back world champions New Zealand in June and July.
Warburton is currently recovering from a knee injury and wasn't sure if he'd even make the squad - let alone captain it.
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