Andy Farrell: Peter O'Mahony reaction to being dropped shows 'proper leadership'

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has praised his captain Peter O'Mahony for his reaction to being dropped ahead of Saturday’s second Test with South Africa in Durban.

The Munster flanker drops to the bench for the game at King’s Park, with Caelan Doris taking over the captaincy for the meeting with the Springboks.

The 34-year-old loses out to Leinster’s James Ryan as Farrell looks to add more bulk to his starting pack, with Ryan moving into the second row, and Tadhg Beirne sliding across to blindside flanker.

It’s a major call from the Ireland coach to leave out his squad captain for such a pivotal game, but Farrell said he’s been impressed with how O’Mahony has handled it.

"You don't expect those conversations to be easy and don't get me wrong, he's not accepting and he's not happy obviously but he does the right thing for the team," the Ireland head coach said.

"That's at the forefront of his mind constantly, and that's proper leadership. He understands that we want to have a look in this direction to see how it goes.

"He's the captain of this tour and it shows the mark of the man how you lead after a bit of disappointment, how you carry on being yourself or not."

Farrell (above) added that O'Mahony still has a big role to play this weekend against the world champions.

"He's on the bench for a reason. He makes people feel good, it's right when he's there with his presence and leading.

"That has been so evident over the last couple of days so he couldn't have done a better job in that regard."

Farrell was also quick to highlight the form of Ryan, who has forced his way back into the side.

The Leinster co-captain was a second half replacement for Joe McCarthy at Loftus Versfeld, and effectively gives Ireland three second rows in