EX-IRISH INTERNATIONAL Keith Wood has called for Rory Best to be installed as the new Ireland captain.

With Brian O’Driscoll still recovering from injury, and Paul O’Connell now absent, there has been much speculation as to who will be given the captaincy.

And speaking on Newstalk’s Off the Ball, Wood said he believes Best is the right man for the job.

Wood’s former teammate Shane Horgan also thinks “Rory could do a good job,” but claimed Stephen Ferris would be an equally deserving candidate, praising his performance against France on Sunday and describing him as “a cross between an American footballer and a WWF wrestler”.

Horgan suggested O’Connell’s loss was “huge” and added that he had been a word class player “for probably ten years”.

Wood also recalled playing alongside O’Connell during his career, saying:

“He would have been relatively young and quiet when I was there. But he’ll speak when he has to.”

The Irish legend was complimentary of his country’s performance against France for the most part, and claimed “fatigue” was the main reason for their disappointing second half display.

And asked about what went wrong, Horgan said:

“We weren’t as incisive at times in the backline, and our line-out didn’t function as well as it might have.”

Meanwhile, Ireland have risen one place to seventh in the latest IRB rankings following Sunday’s draw with France.

Read: Bad blow: O’Connell and Murray ruled out for rest of Six Nations>

Read: Watch: Luke Fitzgerald admits ‘there is scope’ for leaving Leinster>