SHARED CAPTAIN COULD BE BEST FOR IRELAND

JOE SCHMIDT is thinking of sharing the Ireland captaincy between Johnny

Sexton and Peter O’mahony, inset, for the Australia tour.

Rory Best, above, will not make the three-test tour Down Under due to a hamstring injury.

The veteran Ireland skipper missed Ulster’s Champions Cup play-off against Ospreys with the problem but was initially on course to make the trip.

However he has been replaced in the 32-man squad by

Munster’s Niall Scannell.

“We felt he was really going in the right direction and he would be ready for game one, definitely for game two,” said Schmidt, whose side face the Wallabies for the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday week.

“But he’s just not quite where we need him to be.

“To go away with just two fit hookers .... so Niall Scannell will come in in his place.”

Sexton and O’mahony are vice-captains to Best and

Schmidt is contemplating using them both to replace the Ulsterman.

“It will depend a bit on selection and what we feel we need at any given time,” said the Ireland head coach.

“It could be that Pete and Johnny take the team on and share the load.”

Schmidt explained his reasoning for bringing former Ireland centre Jared Payne, who has been appointed as Ulster’s new defence coach, into the management team for the first 10 days of the tour.

“A couple of years ago we went to South Africa with a very young side, he was an incredible leader in that situation,” said Schmidt.

“Some of the detail and advice he gave, he’s been coaching for the last two years in our environment.

“So for him to pick up (coaching) and do so well with Ulster in a very short space of time, already it promises plenty.

“From Jared’s perspective, without putting too much pressure on him, you’re inevitably learning. I’ve been doing this for about 17-18 years and I’m still learning every time we get together.

“He’s already got great game knowledge. he’s got a real ability to communicate positively.”