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2nd December 2025
11:35am GMT
If anyone is in a position to make a call on the best rugby captains from the 2000s and 2010s, then it is Nigel Owens.
The esteemed former referee saw it all at both international and club level during his time on the pitch, with his interactions with team leaders one of the main parts of his job.
Brian O'Driscoll - who won 133 caps for Ireland - and Paul O'Connell - who won 108 caps for Ireland - played much of their international careers alongside each other, with the former captaining his country for many years, while O'Connell 'took the armband' towards the end of his days with the national side.
And despite the plethora of great captains over the years, such as Thierry Dusautoir, Richie McCaw, and Siya Kolisi, Owens has named the duo of O'Driscoll and O'Connell as the best he refereed.
He said: “I’m classing this as a joint-ticket as whenever I seemed to ref Ireland in their day O’Driscoll was captain and O’Connell was vice-skipper.
“O’Driscoll actually used to tell me if there were issues with the forwards then I should chat to O’Connell. I found them excellent to deal with.”
Since their days, James Ryan took over briefly, before Caelan Doris made the role his own in recent years, with the likes of Dan Sheehan also substituting in when needed.
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