'Who's going to be captain if Johnny goes off? It seems there isn't a huge amount putting their hand up'

Tommy Bowe has some concerns about who will step in to skipper Ireland if the Leinster man is absent at any stage.

TOMMY BOWE SAYS he’s confident that Johnny Sexton is the right candidate to captain Ireland, but has concerns about who will deputise for him should the Leinster man be forced off at any time.

The star out-half was confirmed as the the new national skipper ahead of the Six Nations. He previously held the role from the start of a game for the first time ever in last year’s World Cup clash with Russia.

Sexton, who captains his province, has also assumed the leadership with Ireland during other games in the past.

Bowe backs his former Ireland team-mate to lead the country into the 2020 campaign, and knows that there are players available to step in should their first-choice leader be absent at any time.

However, he is concerned that there doesn’t seem to be “a huge amount of people putting their hand up.” 

“I think he’s the only option really,” Bowe begins.

“My question is if Johnny goes off, who’s going to be captain then? Is CJ then going to be vice? You obviously have Peter O’Mahony on the bench.

Johnny Sexton is no doubt, the ideal man for it. I think it’s a great opportunity for him. And I think he was the obvious choice. But who’s next up? I’m really interested to see because it doesn’t seem like there’s a huge amount of people putting their hand up.

“Even Iain Henderson, who’s been fantastic as captain of Ulster this year. There are options there, but Johnny is the obvious contender at the moment.”

Prior to Sexton’s official appointment, there were suggestions that Leinster’s James Ryan could be in line for the Ireland captaincy.

But Bowe is somewhat relieved that head coach Andy Farrell didn’t buy into the hype.

He acknowledges that Ryan has previously captained the Ireland U20s, but at just 23, the Ulster man believes Ryan needs more experience to make himself eligible for the responsibility. 

“He hasn’t captained Leinster yet. He’s still a very young guy and very inexperienced in his international career.

“People were even comparing him to Brian O’Driscoll who was made captain at such a young age.

“But Brian will tell you [that] to be captain when he had people like Keith Wood, and other older players in the squad, it’s quite daunting. It’s difficult. Captaining your province is one thing, captaining the U20s is another thing. But captaining an Irish team into a Six Nations, there’s so much pressure that goes into it.

You have to be the barrier that shields the whole squad. And when you’re still a young guy, finding your own feet in the green jersey, that takes time. It would have been a huge ask of him.”

The Ireland team that has been selected for their Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday has produced some interesting talking points.

Conor Murray holding off the challenge of John Cooney for the number nine jersey has certainly provoked debate. Additionally, Andy Farrell’s call to give Caelan Doris his Test debut, and bench Peter O’Mahony, has also drawn some attention.

Bowe has been impressed with Doris but has plenty of praise for his Leinster team-mate Max Deegan, who was also in contention for the back-row slot.

“Caelan Doris has been fantastic but I think Max Deegan’s been incredible,” says Bowe.

“I think as a six, if he’s gonna drop Pete O’Mahony, which he did, I thought you’d put Max Deegan at six and put CJ at eight. And then you could have John Cooney at nine and Johnny at 10.

“You don’t want to have two changes, a change at eight and nine. So, he’s gone for that and put Dorris in, which would mean that the obvious thing would be to have a Murray and Sexton [half-back pairing]. It makes sense, going into the first game of the Six Nations, it’s all about winning.

He has to get off to a good start at home because the way the competition is set up, it’s ideal for Ireland.”

As part of the 2020 Six Nations, Guinness will host a series of events and experiences in venues and locations across the country. Visit www.Guinness.com to find out more throughout the Championship.

Tommy Bowe and Thom Evans today hosted the first of the Guinness Six Nations experiences.