Rory Best ruled out of Australia tour with injury

Ireland captain Rory Best has been ruled out of Ireland’s three-Test tour to Australia with a hamstring injury.

Best sustained the injury while training for Ulster and had to sit out the club’s final-game 35-17 win over Ospreys which secured a place in next season’s European Champions Cup.

Munster hooker Niall Scannell has been chosen as the Ulster man's replacement for the trip which involves Tests in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Head coach Joe Schmidt indicated that Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony could share the Irish captaincy.

35-year-old Best started all five matches of Ireland's Grand Slam-winning Six Nations campaign and recently extended his contract with Ulster and the IRFU up until the 2019 World Cup.