Future Captain? Any Ideas?

Stev_o

I really do think its time we start discussing this as i think it is a vital role that we really really really really lack in for the future. Rog gets the band this weekend and lets hope it does him good but he wont be around for ever and as the growing pressure mounts on BOD's stepping down of captain its time to look around for players.

So names mentioned have been Heaslip, Reddan, Flannery, DOC etc.


What are peoples thoughts about this? Who do YOU think will get the captaincy in the near future if it happens

buck65

Stev_o wrote: »

I really do think its time we start discussing this as i think it is a vital role

I didn't know we decided the captain on boards!
Who gives a **** what we think

quagmire69

buck65 wrote: »

I didn't know we decided the captain on boards!
Who gives a **** what we think

why do you even post on these boards??

The whole point of the board is for discussion, if we all went by your rules what would be the point in discussing irish rugby as none of us is the head coach and we dont work in the irfu!??!?

My view for captain is to make somebody captain for the short term (a year or two) and then make a decision for the long term. Don't think there are any outstanding candidates in the current set up. It will take time to see if heaslip, reddan & co are up to it.
I've already mentioned it in another post, but gleeson is my choice for the NZ tour.

[Jackass]

New Coach, New Captain.

There's only one contender in my mind, Paul O'Connell.

Mint Sauce

[Jackass] wrote: »

New Coach, New Captain.

There's only one contender in my mind, Paul O'Connell.

+1

Podge_irl

[Jackass] wrote: »

New Coach, New Captain.

There's only one contender in my mind, Paul O'Connell.

Well that's unfortunate, cause all evidence points to him being a bit ****e as captain. Mind you, there isn't an obvious replacement out there right now. The only two Irish players I can think of are Cullen and Foley and obviously the latter won't be in the team again and I doubt the former will any time soon either.

Reddan has captained Wasps, but I am unsure as to how he got on with it. I've always thought Heaslip would make a good captain - he seems intelligent, clearly has a rugby brain and always gave 100% for Leinster even when everyone around seemed not to care. That's probably a year or two away from happening if it happens at all though.

athtrasna

Have we not been there done that? That fact that ROG got the captaincy for this weekend with POC in the side is interesting given that POC has already captained Ireland?

My preferred captain for the future is DOC. A little bit younger than POC and ROG but established enough in the 22 for inexperience not to be an issue. He's also young enough to still be around at the next world cup.

Reddan still not safe at 9 and Heaslip....possibly but someone posted on another thread that he hides from pressure and attention before a game, not what we need in a captain.

Strongly believe captain should come from the front 10 and ideally the pack, lead from the front. DOC has the potential to do this and wears his heart on his sleeve, nobody can doubt his passion, his interviews this season have shown this.

Sangre

POC doesnt deserve his place in the team, let alone the captaincy.

For now I think ROG is a perfect candidate, not too young or old and is a confident player. He is a big game player and raises his game for the occassion (bar the old blip).

In the future I can see Heaslip being a potential candidate.

sioda

Sangre wrote: »

POC doesnt deserve his place in the team, let alone the captaincy.

Thats a tad harsh to say the least.

As for candidates ROG is the obvious choice for the moment but I think long term Reddan is a great option. Flannery I dont think would be a good choice but a least the line out calls would be clear :P

future_plans

Would love to see DOC as captain, but he can be a bit rash on the field. He also has a reputation as bein a bit of a joker. Good craic in camp, but for a captain?

Definitely see Heaslip as future captain material.

Not sure if POC has the confidence in himself to be captain which is awful to say.

It's a tough one.

Leamy or Flannery maybe.

Limerickjohnny

As a munster man, it pains me to say it but Cullen should be the Irish captain!
He was very highly thought of in Leicester and even captained the side and its no coincidence that the return of him to Leinster has coincided with the best performance from a leinster pack in years.

Reddan performs brilliantly for Wasps but at times lucks a little indecisive in the Irish team, this is most probably down to the type of game plan that Ireland currently have. At one stage he went to the blindside in the second half of the match, realised he was outnumbered and really should have grubber kicked ahead but came back inside and ball got turned over.

By the way DOC is older than POC by about six months and played in the munster schools team a year ahead of POC.

gcgirl

Limerickjohnny wrote: »

As a munster man, it pains me to say it but Cullen should be the Irish captain!
He was very highly thought of in Leicester and even captained the side and its no coincidence that the return of him to Leinster has coincided with the best performance from a leinster pack in years.

Reddan performs brilliantly for Wasps but at times lucks a little indecisive in the Irish team, this is most probably down to the type of game plan that Ireland currently have. At one stage he went to the blindside in the second half of the match, realised he was outnumbered and really should have grubber kicked ahead but came back inside and ball got turned over.

By the way DOC is older than POC by about six months and played in the munster schools team a year ahead of POC.

you would not think DOC is older than POC !! I'd go for Cullen(yep his from lovely wicklow as well) too as captain plus we need a new manager new ideas because EOS made a total ballocks of the brill team we had !

Nukem

Heaslip for sure. He has captained Leinster a few times if memory serves, he's young, arrogant (best sense of the meaning) and a good rounded rugby player.

themont85

Rog for now, O'Connell and O'Driscoll need to focus on their own individual game for now. As has been said, Heaslip in the future.

MikeHoncho

BOD til next world cup and after that whoever steps up to the plate during the next 4 years (possibly Heaslip) after that. Sorry lads Brian aint gonna be stepping down anytime soon.

If he did then I would prefer ROG to O'Connell.

athtrasna

Limerickjohnny wrote: »

By the way DOC is older than POC by about six months and played in the munster schools team a year ahead of POC.

Definitely wouldn't have thought that!! O'Connell look old and tired but O'Callaghan is fresh faced and up for it. Must be the injury thing, O'Callaghan has been lucky so far.


As for the O'Driscoll til the next world cup suggestion by Mike, how? Why? ??? He's not on top of his game at the moment (well pre-injury he wasn't) and does not deserve a guaranteed starting place in the XV which is what the captaincy brings.

MikeHoncho

athtrasna wrote: »

Definitely wouldn't have thought that!! O'Connell look old and tired but O'Callaghan is fresh faced and up for it. Must be the injury thing, O'Callaghan has been lucky so far.


As for the O'Driscoll til the next world cup suggestion by Mike, how? Why? ??? He's not on top of his game at the moment (well pre-injury he wasn't) and does not deserve a guaranteed starting place in the XV which is what the captaincy brings.

Just because he isnt making line breaks all the time does not mean he is playing badly. His work rate is still up there. He is forced to operate as a second 7 most of the time. He was great when he got going against the Scots. Who else would you suggest as a viable option?

Stev_o

MikeHoncho wrote: »

Just because he isnt making line breaks all the time does not mean he is playing badly. His work rate is still up there. He is forced to operate as a second 7 most of the time. He was great when he got going against the Scots. Who else would you suggest as a viable option?

At least one line break would be nice from him as he is a OC. He's just turning into Jamie Noon but more fragile at the moment. He's also making stupid mistakes like offloading to nobody and kicking aimlessly.

themont85

Stev_o wrote: »

At least one line break would be nice from him as he is a OC. He's just turning into Jamie Noon but more fragile at the moment. He's also making stupid mistakes like offloading to nobody and kicking aimlessly.

He's been getting shocking ball to be fair. The whole backline is strangled by our tactics. He made 1 aimless kick vs Wales. I don't think he's lost it, one sublime offload vs France iirc shows the magics still there. Eddie's backs moves have been sussed completely, this is a major factor in his play. I don't see why if available he'd be dropped, who else is there? His form has dipped but I think we'll see a couple more years in him yet. He must be good in the squad if he's still the captain.

phog

Anyone hear the text message on Newstalk this evening? Something like ROG and the Munster players have conspired to play a Munster type game for Ireland so that they could get rid of the coach and captain. It's amazing what some people will think.

Trojan

I think Cullen is probably the best man for the job right now.

Crash

Leo's built like a leader - but we can't call him captain material until he gets game time.

phog

This thread is about a future captain - Leo is 30 so I think even if he was getting into the team he is too old to be classed as a captain of the future.

I actually think if BOD survives as captain for the next 2 6Ns championships we'll see someone like Heaslip take over the reins.

johnnyutah

Thought I'd throw my 2cents into the ring on this; I think long term a good possibility for captain will be Heaslip, he just needs to focus on the small aspects of his game that need improving at international level first, but give it 18months/2yrs and he'll be good to go.

Right now I'd love to see Leo Cullen get in the team and captain. He's got a good head on his shoulders, isn't prone to rash decisions (a la O'Connell on a few occasions which he's captained teams on), has captained one of the biggest club teams in the world (Leicester) and is by all accounts, a model professional.

I don't think O'Gara's the man for long term captaincy, mainly as making him such would impede the progress of a few good young 10s over the next few years (Sexton, O'Connor and a few others). O'Connell's a leader by his actions on the pitch, but he doesn't seem to have the clear thinking head required for captaincy in my opinion - understandably some will disagree with me, but it's my opinion, not yours!

Other than that I think Reddan, under a gameplan more "creative" than those imposed by O'Sullivan could be a good captain too...