COMMENT: Captain or not, Ireland’s Six Nations history quest needs Jamie Heaslip

Leading your country out on the occasion of your 50th cap has become standard practice in the Test-heavy professional era.

Delivering the team talk while the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Ronan O'Gara are occupying the dressing room is another matter. That was the scene-setter for Ireland's dice with the All Blacks in Christchurch, in 2012. Ireland rocked the ABs for 78 minutes but could not close out the game. Dan Carter's late drop goal shattered the men in green. Heaslip, who missed out on the Ireland captaincy today, had badly injured his arm in that game but played on for the full 80 minutes. He is the iron-man for Irish rugby but this was above and beyond, all for his country. All for an agonising, losing cause. In recognition of his feats, during is tenure, Declan Kidney named him Ireland captain in November 2012. Heaslip said he was "humbled" by the appointment but the wheels soon fell off. Ireland were riddled with injuries at the tail-end of 2012 and for the following year's Six Nations campaign. Heaslip's inability to affect the sombre tones of O'Driscoll or Paul O'Connell, following a loss, also went against him. He lost the captaincy when O'Connell returned but it didn't diminish his contribution to the team. Heaslip took over from O'Connell when the big man was felled by a ripped hamstring at the World Cup. He was unable to stop the Argentine tide and certain sections of the media recently argued that his strained relationship with them could impinge on his captaincy claims. Joe Schmidt was well aware of Heaslip's abilities when he took over as Ireland coach. At Leinster, Heaslip was the workhorse, the first man to the ruck, the water-carrier. He had transitioned from the ball-carrying bright spark to the man who excelled in grunt work. The guy who blows up countless balloons rather than the one that yells 'SURPRISE!' Emmett Farrell, Leinster's video analyst, calls Heaslip 'Mr Consistency'. In The New Breed, Farrell said:

"Jamie does get criticised for not carrying at international level for some reason, yet he’s first on every single teamsheet and is available every week. The way he plays, I don’t think he comes off the field and the coaches are criticising him. Ever. "You could read the press a while back, and they’d say Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris are making so many carries, but Heaslip only made two. Well, how are they getting the ball? Jamie is excellent at not saying, 'I want to carry.' He is brilliant at doing the job he is required to do for the team to win. "I don’t think there is a coach in Europe who wouldn’t have him in their team... someone who works and works and works, but it doesn't get seen by everybody."

That work paid off in the final moments of Ireland's Six Nations-clinching win over Scotland, last March, as Heaslip's try-saving tackle on Stuart Hogg made all the difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHdXgb0dKL4 As vice captain, and with Ireland facing a Six Nations three-in-a-row, Heaslip will often be in the spotlight. He will talk about the process, 80 one-minute battles and the million intricacies that go into Test match rugby. Once the cameras are switched off, Heaslip will breathe a sigh of relief and focus on what he does best - helping Ireland win big games.