Ireland boss Andy Farrell would be better off appointing a new captain sooner rather than later, according to Fiona Coghlan.
Out-half Johnny Sexton was named skipper ahead of this year's Six Nations and has retained the armband for the upcoming Autumn Nations Cup, which begins on Friday night with Ireland v Wales (live on RTÉ2).
The Leinster back will be 38 by the time the 2023 World Cup comes around and while he has always shied away from retirement talk, the ex-Racing 92 player would be an unlikely candidate to lead the side in France.
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"Going forward we need to look at a different captain," Coghlan, who captained Ireland to the Women’s Six Nations title and Grand Slam in 2013, told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
"Whether that happens in the next four games or in the next Six Nations, I don’t know, but definitely going towards the next World Cup there needs to be a change in the captaincy.
"The sooner it happens the better to allows that player to bed in because it will be a younger player who has a lot of learning to do.
"Currently Johnny’s standing in the squad and the way he drives standards in there is what’s keeping him as captain. I would be a fan of a change of captaincy."
Lock James Ryan (24) and centre Garry Ringrose (25) are two names that crop up in succession talks.
"I actually favour Garry Ringrose," added Coghlan.
"Normally, I would prefer a player in the pack as a captain but I just think Garry’s consistency, him standing up, his leadership skills were coming to the fore.
"It will be interesting to see what way Andy Farrell goes, whether he thinks it’s important to have his primary leader in the pack or not."
Follow Ireland v Wales on Friday (kick-off 7pm) via the liveblog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News App, live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player or listen to live match commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
