Former Ireland player Keith Wood has backed Leinster's Dan Sheehan to become Ireland's next captain after Johnny Sexton's retirement.
Sexton, who held the Irish armband for many years, retired after this year's Rugby World Cup, and since then, there's been a debate over who will take the armband full-time following his departure.
Players like James Ryan, Gary Ringrose, Peter O'Mahony, and the likes of Ian Henderson have all been linked to the role, but Wood believes none of those should get it and that the armband instead should go to Ireland's Sheehan because he is a "generational talent," according to Wood.
Sheehan has become one of Ireland's best players, and barring a major injury, he will be one of Farrell's key men for the upcoming Six Nations this spring.
“I don’t know him, so it’s hard when you’re looking at him, but I think he is a generational talent, and we’ve been calling him that since he was about 23,” he told the Off the Ball podcast.
Dan Sheehan and Mack Hansen of Ireland celebrate victory at full-time following the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France on September 23, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Franco Arland/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)“I think he has a level of composure that I like a lot. For me, I like having a hooker there because he is always going to be beside the referee.
“You either have a hooker or you have a good second-row. Even a number eight at times, although I’m not as keen on a number eight being captain because they have to make a huge amount of immediate decisions, so you’re looking at levelling out the bases under which you’re going to be under pressure.”
Wood also believes that the same captain at the provincial level should not captain their country, and this applies to both James Ryan and Gary Ringrose, who both co-captain Leinster. He believes that players need respite from the captain's influences, and Sheehan's selection as a future Ireland captain would offer that.
“Having done it with club and country in the same year, I’m not a fan of it. I think you need to have respite at some stage,” Wood added.
“I don’t like the co-captain thing at all, so I would just make it Ringrose at Leinster, and if you do that, Sheehan is the standout in Ireland for me.”
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