"He has earned the right to be a senior leader even with the Lions."
Such were the words of Ronan O'Gara on
The Hard Yards and it is hard to argue otherwise. Rory Best has gone from a decent hooker and a damn fine loose forward whenever their was a ruck to be found to Ireland's undoubted leader and a man with has earned the respect of opponents and teammates alike.
In the past 10 months, Best has led Ireland to victories over New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England. There may not have been silverware for any of those wins but Best has shone, on and off the pitch, as a captain and communicator.
All of a sudden, too, Best is the man many pundits and players expect to wear the No.2 jersey in the Lions' First Test against New Zealand on June 24. O'Gara and Stephen Ferris [from 27:50 below] both spoke about Best's transformation in fortunes after the 2013 Lions Tour.
https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/episode-12-lions-squad-reaction-champions-cup-preview-and-andy-powell-antics
Best was in the conversation to be starting Lions hooker all the way through the 2012/13 season. That was until his lineout throwing fell to pieces and his all-round game suffered as a knock-on effect.
He didn't make the initial Lions squad but was a late call-up when Dylan Hartley crudely questioned Wayne Barnes' refereeing skills and copped a ban to add to his pile. He did little to make a Test claim but was awarded the honour of captaining the midweek side against Jake White's Brumbies. That game was a disaster for Best as he had a poor game in a 14-12 defeat at Canberra Stadium.
Best was, according to O'Gara, left "shattered" by that Brumbies game but it forced him to up his game. He said:
"Rory looked himself in the mirror and he has become a completely transformed player. Mentally, he has left that way, way behind him.
"You look at him for Ireland now and he is very secure, but I think what's going to be crucial is that you'll need a scrummaging hooker and Besty prides himself on that. He loves a one-on-one battle and he backs himself on being an old-school hooker - doing his basics right, delivering at lineout and delivering at scrum."
Gatland has already referred to the likes of Ben Te'o and Saracens hooker Jamie George as finishers, much like Eddie Jones uses them for England, so that bodes well for Best. Ken Owens is the other hooker in the squad but George had a middling Champions Cup semi-final against Munster and the Lions coaching staff will have taken note.
O'Gara believes that Best will be a key figure for driving training sessions and, in his mind, he looks set for a starting role against the All Blacks.
