Kendellen ‘incredibly proud’ to lead Munsterat22

During international windows, the provinces usually rely on the more experienced veterans to get them through a tricky period, but Munster, who have plenty of those in their ranks, decided to turn to Alex Kendellen to captain the side.

Kendellen was given the honour for the famous win over the Crusaders at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last month, and since then, has remained skipper – doing a good job by all accounts.

The Cork man first captained a team in the senior cup with PBC, which led to him captaining the Ireland U-20s. But while leading his home province was the natural next step, it came earlier than he probably expected himself.

“It’s been great, a dream come true for me,” Kendellen said ahead of tomorrow’s home clash with Cardiff.

“To captain Munsterat the age of 22, not a lot of people can say they’ve done that, but it’s a massive honour for me.

“It’s a role that ‘Wig’ (Graham Rowntree) was getting me ready for and he gave me the nod against Crusaders. It was incredibly special and I was incredibly proud to captain the boys.

“Not just for me but for my family, my friends, everybody back home. It was a real family day out (against the Crusaders) and I really enjoyed it.

“Graham gave me the nod on the Tuesday. I got to tell my family on Tuesday evening, they were incredibly proud of me – and to walk out into Páirc Uí Chaoimh is just incredibly special, one I won’t forget quickly.”

Since Peter O’Mahony gave up the Munster captaincy last November, Rowntree has not selected a long-term successor, but Kendellen (now23) has put his hand up.

As a back-row, working with Munster’s defence coach Denis Lea my daily has been huge for Kendellen’s development and he hopes to kick on again over the coming weeks.

“There’s no better man,” he said of former Ireland international Leamy.

“He’s been incredible, not just for myself but for the team especially.

“He’s given me (the) confidence to go out and show my part of my game that I’m getting better at, I think, my defence. The one-on-one stuff he does is incredible. His dooris always open. He just wants you to get better. He’s made it really enjoyable. It’s all contact with ‘Leams’ and it’s great for a back-row like myself. We all feed off his energy.”