Successor.

Rory Best has done one hell of a job as Ireland captain ever since he took over, recently becoming just the third Ireland skipper to lead his side to a Grand Slam.

The Ulster hooker has led by examples since taking over from Paul O’Connell after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but he isn’t getting any younger, and will be 37 by the time the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan takes place.

Brian O’Driscoll recently spoke in Dublin to promote BT Sport on the eir Sport Pack, and believes Peter O’Mahony is an obvious choice as successor.

“Rory Best is the number one if he’s fit and willing, but in his absence? I think Pete is the obvious choice, because of how much he is respected.” O’Driscoll said.

The former Ireland centre however, is concerned about picking a captain from the back-row, considering the ridiculous competition that currently exists there. O’Driscoll thinks perhaps Johnny Sexton could be the man to captain Ireland in place of Best.

“But you have to guarantee your captain a starting berth, and can you guarantee him that in that back row right now, 100%? Probably not, but there is a good likelihood that he’d be there.

“Other than that, Johnny Sexton has really matured in the last few years. It looks as though he’s mellowed out an awful lot, and he’s better captaincy material now.

“Conor Murray, he doesn’t need to be captain because he just leads the way with his performance anyway, he’s a world class 9.

“I do think it’s probably Pete, Johnny, or Rory if you’re not picking the holder.”