Caelan Doris distances himself from Irish captaincy role

If Caelan Doris is indeed named as the new Ireland captain by Andy Farrell this week, the Leinster man certainly hasn't been given the news yet. Either that or he has a mighty poker face.

With two days to go until the Six Nations squad announcement, there's no general consensus as to who would be the obvious new captain to replace Johnny Sexton. That's not a bad thing.

While there's no obvious candidates, it's largely because he has several legitimate candidates. Peter O'Mahony, Iain Henderson, James Ryan and Tadhg Furlong have all filled in on occasion during Farrell's tenure, while Conor Murray has done so for the British and Irish Lions.

Garry Ringrose has been a regular skipper for Leinster in the last 18 months and is currently sharing the role with Ryan, and both of those two look to be in the frame for the national honour this week.

Everyone loves a wildcard pick, and many pundits have thrown their weight behind Doris in recent weeks.

While the number 8 has never captained Ireland at senior level, there's a compelling case for him to lead the team. As a former Ireland under-20 captain, the Mayo native is perfectly comfortable in a leadership role. At 25-years-old, he's likely to be part of the furniture in the Irish squad for two more World Cup cycles, and with Doris playing in each of Ireland's last 29 games dating back to 2021, his place in the side is undisputed.

The central contract he signed in December reaffirms how the IRFU value him.

If he is to be named the next Ireland captain, he isn't canvassing for the role.

"It would obviously be a massive honour but to be honest I think there's quite a few ahead of me in the pecking order," he said.

"Myself and Hugo [Keenan] have been in the leadership for the last couple of