Next Irish captain

gally74

I was surprised heaslip got the captaincy going into the puma game for me Rory best deserves it and seems to have the respect of the players.

Is it now open? What do people think?

thebaz

when fit POM for me , Sexton would have been my first choice , but understand the pressure of been a goal kicking 10 is probably eneogh

dubal

I though Heaslip was the obvious choice

gally74

thebaz wrote: »

when fit POM for me , Sexton would have been my first choice , but understand the pressure of been a goal kicking 10 is probably eneogh

Pom is class , but not as cool as he could be when talking to refs

wp_rathead

Isa Nacewa is Leinster captain so that'd make me think that Jamie Heaslip will be given Ireland captaincy

Pink Fairy

CJ Stander

Ceadog

Right, the options are:

Heaslip - Obvious choice. One of the most successful club captains in history and has captained Ireland before.
Sexton - Possibly our best player, but has a temper, and history shows outhalves make poor captains.
O'Mahony - Munster captain, still young. Is unfortunately injured and may miss the 6N. One of the future.
Best - Ulster captain and highly experienced. In the form of his life and one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Murray - Integral cog in our game but hasn't shown much leadership.
Henshaw - Showed excellent leadership in the France game but probably needs more experience before leading.
R. Kearney - Good leader, poor form. Probably too far from the game at fullback too.

So, realistically, for this season, it's going to be either Heaslip or Best. O'Mahony has a shout if he comes back from injury early.

El_Duderino 09

wp_rathead wrote:

Isa Nacewa is Leinster captain so that'd make me think that Jamie Heaslip will be given Ireland captaincy

Not necessarily. Nacewa is not only a class, senior player, he'll also be there throughout the 6 nations which gives continuity.

its_phil

gally74 wrote: »

I was surprised heaslip got the captaincy going into the puma game for me Rory best deserves it and seems to have the respect of the players.

Is it now open? What do people think?

As opposed to Heaslip who does not have respect?

I always think this debate is fruitless. Unless your very close to the team, you have no idea who will make a good captain.

CatFromHue

Fine, I'll do it

locum-motion

Deleted User wrote: »

I always think this debate is fruitless. Unless your very close to the team, you have no idea who will make a good captain.

Unless my very close to the team what?

locum-motion

locum-motion wrote: »

Unless my very close to the team what?

...then you have no idea who will be a good captain.

Edit: Ugh just spotted UR being a grammar nazi

locum-motion

Deleted User wrote: »

...then you have no idea who will be a good captain.

Edit: Ugh just spotted UR being a grammar nazi

Godwin's Law: you lose!

PTH2009

sean o brien

efb

Peter O'Mahony

MadYaker

Only people who know what goes on in the dressing room and are close to the players could know this, but based on what we've seen, Heaslip.

efb

Heaslip's leadership against Argentina left a lot to be desired.

CatFromHue

It's a bit of an interesting question as all the best teams tend to have multiple Captains options

Nz 11: McCaw, Read, Weepu
SA 07: Smit, Du Preez, Matfield
Eng 03: half the bloody team

So maybe it puts a bit of perspective on our squad.

kUDiW

I'm not convinced Best is the best option. Rather he focused on his own game, without the added pressure of captaincy.
I think it needs to be one of the forwards or scrum half, as a key part of the role is the ongoing dialogue with the ref.
Richie the master here. So I'd go with PoM as I think Heaslip too passive.
If PoM out of action still at the 6N, I wonder if Henry might be an outside bet .

bilston

Heaslip will captain during the 6Ns and I'd wager POM will take over, either next season, or if things go well in the 6Ns, then in the near future.

Ruddock could be an option down the line as well but he needs to get into the team first.

For me thiugh I wouldn't give it to Sexton, he has enough on his plate, plus he seems like he may be a bit too edgy for it, but that is hard to judge if you aren't in the team environment I suppose.

Pink Fairy

I suppose we could go the route of the Ryder Cup and have a non playing captain, that's the only way Ruddock gets the job

stephen_n

Heaslip is vice Captain, has taken over the roll whenever POC has been absent and is one of the most experienced players in the squad. Add to that his amazing injury profile and how few matches he misses, it's really hard to see beyond him. POM may well take over in a few years, but for now it will be Heaslip.

bilston

Pink Fairy wrote: »

I suppose we could go the route of the Ryder Cup and have a non playing captain, that's the only way Ruddock gets the job

Well that's why I said he needs to get into the team first.

Who do you think will be playing BS in the 6Ns? Ruddock? Henderson? Stander? Murphy?

jacothelad

The captain is there to make cool headed decisions - such as do we go for a l/o or kick a penalty attempt. He also has to be indispensible to the team. We don't need an eye bulging, raving loonbeg as captain. They have their place on the field but we do not need a hot headed twat to get up the noses of refs. The captain should be someone that the players would follow into the gates of Hell without thinking. Heaslip has the fire in him but under control. Yes, I'm pretty sure Heaslip is such a player. I also think Sexton is pretty much in the same mould. To be honest I can't see beyond these two. Most of the others who are sure fire starters such as SOB don't seem to be leaders other than by example and one or two of this 'inner circle' should be under pressure for their places in the starting 15. None of the backs outside Sexton seem to be 'captain' material. They may be good players but they lack that something that captains seem to exude....... Authority. Something which can't be coached. Being a balls to the wall, snarly faced, aggressive player is simply not enough.

rrpc

efb wrote: »

Heaslip's leadership against Argentina left a lot to be desired.

I find that bit odd tbh. We didn't play well = captain's fault. We played well = coach is great.

Ergo captain can't win*




*Except if you're Paul O'Connell obviously since he didn't cop any flak for the poor performance against Italy.

davegrohl48

Rory Best for me.
- Never has a bad game
- Incredibly brave and tough, once holding his arm in place knowing it was broken and diving into a ruck against New Zealand
- Never gets hot headed and a good talker

Heaslip is a good option but against Argentina where were the gather everyone and get people settled moments?
It was widely reported no one gathering up and talking.
He was one of few to play well, but that was one of his duties.
We haven't had an Ulster captain since Paddy Johns, is that correct?

Flipper22

I'd be shocked if it's not Heaslip.

Ceadog

bilston wrote: »

Who do you think will be playing BS in the 6Ns? Ruddock? Henderson? Stander? Murphy?

Ruddock, with one of Henry/Stander/Murphy on the bench, with them moving into the starting lineup in that order according to injuries. Henderson is going to be a SR for Ireland now, no question.

Teferi

Can people give me exact details of how Heaslip did not perform well as captain against Argentina? Firm details, time stamps if you have them. These vague terms - "they looked rudderless" etc. simply are no use.

jm08

Teferi wrote: »

Can people give me exact details of how Heaslip did not perform well as captain against Argentina? Firm details, time stamps if you have them. These vague terms - "they looked rudderless" etc. simply are no use.

You are not going to get it then if vague terms are used. A better way of putting is like from one of the warm-up games I think where Paul O'Connell came off the bench and you could see everyone around him lifting their game, more intensity, getting up from tackles quicker etc. etc. POC brought that intensity to the game when he came on. There was absolutely no intensity in the Ireland v Argentina game. I think Schmidt said that in preparation for a game, the coaching staff tend to leave the team alone from around the captains run to let the players prepare themselves. Well, that team was very badly prepared and were blown away in the first 20 minutes. Heaslip did his best, but he didn't rally the troops and up the intensity. Thats what a good captain would do.