Former Ireland and Ulster player Stephen Ferris believes that the Irish rugby captaincy weighs too heavily on certain players in the current squad.
Ireland's long-term captaincy has been up for grabs since Johnny Sexton retired after the Rugby World Cup last year. Since then, the likes of Peter O'Mahony, Caelan Doris, Gary Ringrose, and James Ryan have all been in contention to be Ireland's skipper.
Ferris believes that certain players, like Doris, haven't dealt with the role as well as they should have.
"I've seen people come out during the week in the media and say that they felt like the captaincy didn't take away from his game," said Ferris.
"I would disagree with that. In terms of maybe not this game in the last half an hour for Ireland but certainly for Leinster in the URC semifinal, I think he missed a lot of tackles. Yeah, he's brilliant with the ball in hand, but he just didn't seem to have his finger on the pulse like he usually does, and he's probably the most consistent player for Ireland over the last couple of seasons and hardly misses a game.
Caelan Doris (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"Even in those games when he missed a few tackles, the captaincy does weigh you down ever so slightly. Of course, it's going to weigh you down ever so slightly because you have that responsibility.
"So, is he the player that you just let loose and don't give him that responsibility so he can just go and do his own thing? In my opinion, when he's been like that, that's when he plays his best rugby."
Ireland lost the first test to South Africa, and the two sides will meet later today. Doris may not be Ferris' pick for the Ireland captaincy because of what has happened previously, but the former Ulster player wants Doris to silence the doubters later today.
"I hope to God that [Doris] is captain this weekend, has a brilliant game, and answers a few questions that I might have, but for me, I think that is a sticking point, not only in this moment of time but moving forward into the next couple of years. Who's going to take this on?" said Ferris.
"We've had Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell, and Rory Best, you know, guys that are first names on the team sheet every single week, huge authority, huge experience, lots of respect, and it didn't take away from their game whatsoever."
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2024
Venue: Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Kick-off: 4:00 (5:00 local)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
TV Coverage: Live on Sky Sports
