New skipper O'Mahony can add layer of comfort for shot caller Crowley 

O’Gara likes the idea that the choice of Peter O’Mahony as Ireland captain may offer the heir to Sexton’s throne that extra layer of comfort for now.

MUNSTER EFFECT: Guinness & Ronan O’Gara team up for the Guinness Six Nations Championships - ‘L’Opportunité’ C’Est Enorme!

Nobody knows more about the cruelty, and the importance, of small margins in sport than the French and Irish sides tasked with opening this year’s Six Nations at Marseille’s vibrant Stade Velodrome on Friday evening.

Just the one point separated Fabien Galthié’s side from their South African conquerors in one World Cup quarter-final last year. The width of Jordie Barrett’s hand ultimately proved the difference between Ireland and the All Blacks in another a day earlier.