Watching Australia series from afar

his plan for the captaincy, the plan appears to be to proceed with Peter O’Mahony and Johnny Sexton as the co-leaders of the squad.

Throughout the Six Nations, it was noticeable that the duo were becoming more prominent as the tournament went on.

O’Mahony, who has long been considered next in line and captained Ireland on tour in North America in 2013, has been Munster skipper for six years and led the Lions in their first Test last summer.

Sexton has been a leader in this team for as long as he has been in it, but concerns about his manner with referees and the potential distraction of dealing with the media in the build-up to big games have faded.

Indeed, he appears to be relishing the role.

Best has been hailed for his calm presence as a leading light, but with such high-calibre lieutenants ready to step into the breach it is hard to see Ireland suffering a leadership deficit in the coming weeks.

Will they miss him in his primary role as starting hooker?

Certainly, the experience of 111 caps is not to be sniffed at, but Ireland are up against an Australian side who lost their only capped hooker Jordan Uelese and will have two uncapped options, Folau Fainga’a and Brandon Paenga-Amosa, to select from this week.

Sean Cronin appears to be in pole position to profit from Best’s absence and while he has only started nine of them, he can hardly be called inexperienced having won 61 caps for his country.

He has proven for Leinster that he can be a consistent performer as a starter. He’s been the standout hooker in Irish rugby this season playing alongside Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong in the Leinster front-row. He fully deserves the chance to start on Saturday.

Before departing for Australia, Schmidt said Cronin, Rob Herring and Niall Scannell are playing for the chance to be the back-up hooker next season but one suspects that three strong performances against such quality opposition means the jersey will have to be won back in November.

No doubt Best, who has signed a national contract through to the World Cup, has no intention of giving up his position without a fight but this would appear to be a costly tour for the captain to miss.