Ireland full-back Geordan Murphy believes Brian O'Driscoll is the man to

ad the British and Irish Lions skipper during their summer tour to New

Zealand.

O'Driscoll has led the Irish with distinction, guiding them to 15 victories

from his 18 matches in charge, and appears to have little competition for

the Lions captaincy.

England star Jason Robinson is his only rival but Murphy - who has a good

chance of claiming a Test spot himself - believes his Ireland team-mate

should be given the honour.

He said: "Brian is a great leader. He's very lucky that he has a talented

Ireland squad to wor k 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 a star of the 2001 tour to Australia where he sealed his

reputation as the most dangerous centre in the world.

However, the supremely-gifted Leinster midfielder has continued to develop

since the 2-1 series defeat by the Wallabies and Murphy believes he is now a

more rounded player.

"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."