Andy Farrell named his Irish Rugby squad for the 2024 Six Nations on Wednesday, as the post-Johnny Sexton era begins. Sexton, who not only was Ireland's instrumental outhalf but also their fearless captain, will no doubt leave a huge void with his retirement.
Who will come in as Ireland's out half is yet to be decided, with Jack Crowley deemed to be the front runner. For the Ireland captaincy, step forward Peter O'Mahony with Farrell naming the 34-year-old as his captain on Wednesday. The Munster man stepped back as captain of his own province back in November, a role he had carried out for over 10 years. This has led to rumours surrounding his future as O'Mahony's contract situation has yet to be ironed out.
Speaking to us in reaction to the Ireland squad and O'Mahony being named captain, Stephen Ferris spoke of his surprise with Andy Farrell's decision.
"I'm gonna be honest I didn't see it coming. The reason for that is because he is 34 years of age, his Munster future is in doubt never mind his Ireland future. He's on a national contract, there's chat going around that's not gonna be extended, if its not extended then does Munster offer him a contract or what way does that all work itself out?
Yeah, if six weeks ago Peter O'Mahony had signed a new contract for Munster or a year's extension with the IRFU then I would've turned around and said, aw yeah it has to be Peter O'Mahony for Ireland captain for the next couple of years and we'll see how it goes, just signed a new contract. But that's just all so up in the air so that's why it all feels a little bit left field for me."
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As well as his contract situation, Ferris also feels that the strength of Ireland's other backrow options would have meant O'Mahony's place in the matchday 23 was uncertain before the captaincy mve.
"I'm not sure that he's guaranteed to start ahead of some of these guys that are in form at the minute.
You look at the amount of rugby that he's played since coming back from the Rugby World Cup it's so little. He's been out injured for such a long time, Nick Timoney for Ulster has been off the charts good like probably one of the best backrows in Europe so far.
Thomas Ahern how good has he been in the number 6 jersey for Munster? Scoring tries for fun bringing huge width to their game aggressive ball carrying a real force to be reckoned with I'm sure going forward and then you have Ryan Baird who's starting ahead of Jack Conan, a British and Irish Lions starting number 8 can play anywhere in the backrow. He's starting ahead of him for Leinster, so where does that leave Pete?"
Andy Farrell has clearly gone with a selection based more off of continuity than a huge upheaval post World Cup, with the only new faces around the squad the being training panellists of Sam Prendergast, Oli Jager, and Thomas Ahern. It is understandable due to Sexton's absence, with him being the face of this Irish team for the last 10 years or so. Ferris' opinion is that potentially Farrell is entrusting O'Mahony to guide the team until new leaders arise.
"For me it maybe feels like with Johnny Sexton now gone how will this squad react? Who's gonna step up to the plate in terms of leadership?
Andy Farrell knows that Peter O'Mahony will step up but who else is gonna step up when Johnny's not there and maybe that's why Pete's gonna be captain for the end of this year, the 6 Nations, the tour to South Africa. And then Andy Farrell can see who's actually stepped up without the presence of Johnny Sexton around the place."
14 October 2023; Ireland players, from left, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O Mahony and captain Jonathan Sexton stand for the national anthems before the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It is yet to be seen how Andy Farrell and his team react to the disappointing exit once again at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup. However, significant change will occur in the Ireland set-up over the coming year with Farrell taking over the British and Irish Lions this coming December for their tour of Australia in 2025.
For the time being he will be fully focused on Ireland's trip to Marseille for the first round of the 2024 Six Nations on February 2nd.
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