The thrirty year old Limerick man will lead the Lions when they embark on their summer tour to South Africa that begins with a game against an invitational  Highveld XV at The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Saturday May 30th in Rustenburg in South Africa's North-West Province.

For most commentators, there were only two choices of captain with O'Connell vying with his Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll for the honour.

It will be O'Connell's second Lions Tour. He travelled to New Zealand with Clive Woodward's 2005 Lions and played in all three Test matches against the All Blacks.