Irish full-back Geordan Murphy has added his voice to those calling for Brian O'Driscoll to be named captain of the British and Irish Lions team to tour New Zealand.
O'Driscoll has been a revelation as the Irish skipper, leading them to 15 wins in the 18 games in which he has worn the captain's armband and Murphy believes he can be just as influential for the Lions.
He said: "Brian is a great leader. He's very lucky that he has a talented Ireland squad to work with but everyone knows he's an exceptional player."
"He's a talisman for the side and brings confidence to the players around him. He'd make a good Lions captain. He'd take it in his stride and I'm sure he'd be as influential for the Lions as he is for Ireland."
O'Driscoll was one of the stars of the Lions' 2001 tour of Australia and Murphy believes that he has improved since then and is close to becoming the finished article.
"When Brian first came onto the scene he wasn't as physically developed as he is now. That comes with age," he said.
"In the past couple of years he's been putting in the hits. The game has become more physical and he's adapted to that. He's the complete centre now."
Meanwhile, Martin Johnson has been ruled out of the Lions side to tour New Zealand after it was revealed that he will be involved in a testimonial match in Twickenham on June 4 - the same day as the Lions get their 11-match tour underway against Bay of Plenty in Rotorua.
Stuart Henry, a member of Johnson's testimonial committee said: "It can be taken as a fair assumption that Martin's involvement in the Twickenham fixture will mean he will not be going on the British and Irish Lions tour."
