'Caelan was well within his rights to ask some of those questions' - Simon Easterby backs Caelan Doris over referee communication

Simon Easterby has given his backing to Caelan Doris, after the Ireland vice-captain's communication issues with referee Luke Pearce last week.

The number 8 stepped in as skipper when regular captain Peter O'Mahony departed in the second half of last week's 27-20 defeat to South Africa, and there appeared to be friction between him and Pearce over a number of incidents.

The referee could be heard telling Doris to stop questioning decisions, with a number of contentious issues to be adjudicated on, including two TMO referrals, and the tackle by RG Snyman on Craig Casey, which left the scrum-half with a serious concussion.

Leinster back-row Doris has regularly filled in as captain for both province and country over the last seven months, and has spoken about how he's still mastering the art of keeping the match officials onside.

"It's tricky trying to get the balance right between being there, being a presence, and trying to have some sort of influence but not pushing it too far where you're having a negative effect," he said after Saturday's defeat.

Other Irish players have also had issues communicating with match officials this season, with Leinster's co-captain James Ryan encountering problems with English referee Matthew Carley during their Investec Champions Cup meeting with La Rochelle in December.

Ireland assistant Easterby (below) believes Doris was justified as captain to look for feedback from Pearce on Saturday.

"We thought that Caelan handled himself incredibly well," Easterby said at an Ireland press conference in Durban yesterday.

"He has the responsibility to ask questions, he has just to do it at the correct time and that we give the referee a bit of space to make the decisions.

"They need to work as a team of four,