O’Mahony backs Best’s captaincy after criticism

Ireland back-row Peter O’Mahony believes Rory Best is still the right man to lead his country despite their loss to Wales in Cardiff recently.

Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara criticised Best’s captaincy on television but O’Mahony feels it’s unfair to single out the Ulster hooker in the blame game.

“Look, Rory’s a quality player and captain,” he told the Irish Times.

“You’d follow Rory anywhere and any decision he makes.

“You know there’s 14 fellas on the pitch who’d follow him and back him whatever he goes for. And it’s not just Rory, it’s input from a few guys on the team.

“There’s decisions that have to be made and if we to go back in hindsight I would have made those decisions myself and I would have backed Rory myself.

“They’re decisions you make in the heat of the moment, and I thought they were the right decisions at the time and there was never a decision where I went ‘I would have gone the other way’.

“You’re going to back him every time with the quality he is, you know.”