Niall Malone says Rory Best should be ‘shoe-in’ for captaincy

Ulster’s analyst and skills coach Niall Malone is in no doubt that Rory Best should be the next Ireland captain.

The former Ireland, Ulster and Leicester fly-half believes Best is the standout candidate for the post vacated by Paul O’Connell, particularly after his passionate half-time speech last week in France when Ulster stormed back from 23 points down against Oyonnax to win 24-23 to keep their Champions Cup qualifying hopes alive.

They now face Saracens on Saturday in London, hoping to exact revenge for the battering they received at Ravenhill the opening Pool 2 game.