New captain Easterby sorry for axed Axel

IRISH coach Eddie O’Sullivan dropped a mini-bombshell yesterday by excluding Munster captain Anthony Foley from the side to meet New Zealand on Saturday.

Instead, he named rookie back rower Denis Leamy as number eight and handed the captaincy to Simon Easterby for the Lansdowne Road clash.

Easterby, the quietly spoken Llanelli skipper, gave no thought to the possibility of getting the job. In fact, he only found out yesterday morning before training. “Eddie approached me and asked me how I felt. I was delighted, because my only focus all week was to prove my fitness,” he said.