Injured skipper Best ruled out of Ireland’s Australia tour

Ireland captain Rory Best has been ruled out of June’s tour of Australia with a hamstring injury, head coach Joe Schmidt confirmed.

Schmidt was speaking at a news conference on Thursday to announce that Best, a veteran of 111 caps who led his side to Six Nations Grand Slam glory this year, would be unavailable for the three-match series.

Munster’s Niall Scannell takes Best’s place in the travelling party, while Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony will share captain duties against the Wallabies.

Ireland face fixtures against Australia on June 9, 16 and 23 next month.

News. @N_Scannell222 will replace the injured @RoryBest2 for Ireland’s tour to Australia #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/o6untXnNIg

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) May 31, 2018

Elsewhere, Ireland fly-half Joey Carbery will swap Leinster for Pro14 rivals Munster next season.

Carbery has made 37 appearances for the Pro14 champions despite largely playing second fiddle to Sexton.

The 22-year-old is part of the Ireland squad for the Australia tour.

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