Iain Henderson appointed new Ulster Rugby captain

Ulster Rugby have today confirmed that Iain Henderson will take over the club's captaincy from the retiring Rory Best.

Best is hanging up his boots after the upcoming World Cup, with Henderson taking the lead role at Ulster from next season.

The 27-year-old, who is currently in Ireland’s training squad ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019, has previously captained Ulster in Rory Best's absence, most recently in April's victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

He said: "I'm incredibly proud and excited to be appointed captain.

"I had a good chat with Dan (McFarland) and I think we’re closely aligned in terms of how we see Ulster moving forward.

"When I’ve captained Ulster on previous occasions, it’s been made a lot easier because of the presence of a number of great leaders around me. It really helps when you’ve got people like Al (O’Connor), Rob (Herring) and Marcell (Coetzee) behind you, who understand what you’re doing and provide unbelievable support."

Henderson is one of seven players in the Ulster panel with over 100 caps, having played for the province 105 times.

With 44 Ireland caps, Henderson is the second most experienced international player in Ulster's squad (after incoming prop Jack McGrath) and also has the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to look back on.