Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Cian Healy, Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray.Ben Brady/INPHO End of an era Are Ireland ready for life without Healy, O'Mahony and Murray? Three pillars of the squad will not be easily replaced. 8.01am, 23 Mar 2025 Share options AFTER THE STANDING ovations and all those glowing tributes, Irish rugby icons Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy have left the building. Now what? We’ve known for some time that Ireland’s three remaining centurions were nearing the exit door but now that their Test careers are over, Ireland don’t exactly look ready for life without them. The transition is not going to be as straightforward as ‘next-man-up’. Ireland are losing almost 400 caps worth of experience and all three players remained important figures in the matchday 23 right up their final days in the jersey. It would be remarkable if their exits didn’t leave a void and assistant coach Paul O’Connell has already acknowledged Ireland can likely expect days in the near future where they ‘struggle’ as a result of missing that experience. Add in the retirements of Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls after the 2023 World Cup, and this squad has been stripped of a core group of senior internationals. With O’Mahony, Murray and Healy now gone the next layer of seniority drops to the likes of Robbie Henshaw (82 caps), Iain Henderson (85), Tadhg Furlong (79), James Ryan (72), Andrew Porter (70), Josh van der Flier (68), Garry Ringrose (67) and Bundee Aki (65). Some of those will now be expected to take on more responsibility around leadership and Ireland have made a conscious effort to grow this area in recent years, with Hugo Keenan and Caelan Doris both joining the leadership group in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup. Doris has since been promoted to captain while Dan Sheehan also captained Ireland for the first time in this year’s Six Nations. There might not be another Sexton or O’Mahony in the group but it’s been positive to see new leaders emerge. However this area remains a work in progress, with Doris’ experiencing a difficult day dealing with Angus Gardner in Ireland’s defeat to France. Filling that leadership void is only part of the problem facing the Ireland coaches. As it stands, a squad without O’Mahony, Healy and Murray does not necessarily look a stronger one. Compare that to Earls’ final days in green. While one of Ireland’s greatest internationals, his career arc came to a more natural end, with Mack Hansen and James Lowe firmly established as the first-choice wingers as Earls embraced more of a squad-player role. Advertisement O’Mahony could prove the most difficult to replace as nobody has emerged to wrestle the number six shirt from him. Ryan Baird had looked the most likely candidate but the Leinster player endured a disappointing November window, missing out against New Zealand before being forced off with a head injury almost immediately after coming on against Argentina. In the Six Nations he started the opening game against England but slipped behind O’Mahony for the rest of the tournament, coming off the bench three times. Baird has looked a coming man for some time but another two international windows have now gone by without him furthering his case. Baird has only managed to make a limited impact in recent Test windows.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Jack Conan is another option and proved one of Ireland’s most impactful players across the championship, coming off the bench three times and starting twice (at 8 v Wales and 6 v Italy). Cian Prendergast was set for his Six Nations debut last month but was a late withdrawal from the squad to face Wales due to illness. Players like Cormac Izuchukwu, Tom Ahern and Dave McCann will also hope to enter that selection conversation but have plenty of ground to make up. The same goes for whoever will replace Healy. As the Leinster prop entered the final years of his career Ireland grew increasingly dependent on Andrew Porter while using Healy sparingly off the bench. The lack of depth at loosehead was well flagged but with Healy now out of the picture, Jack Boyle looks the next man up with just two Ireland caps to his name. Boyle, 23, impressed in his cameos against Wales and Italy but 26 minutes of Test rugby isn’t a great sample size. Munster-bound Leinster loosehead Michael Milne has been in camp and Ulster tighthead Tom O’Toole was tested at loosehead against Fiji last November. Jack Boyle featured twice in the Six Nations.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Murray’s loss should be the most easily absorbed by the squad. While the Limerick native remained a highly valued member of the Ireland set-up over the last few years, delivering some important performances, his Munster teammate Craig Casey had been pushing hard to solidify his place as Ireland’s second-choice scrum-half behind Jamison Gibson-Park. Injuries have held Casey back and ensured Murray was needed right throughout this Six Nations, where he featured off the bench in all five games. His retirement boosts Casey’s case as previously, the 25-year-old was struggling to knock Murray out of his path. Even when it’s been a straight call between Casey and Murray, the more senior scrum-half sometimes got the nod. Casey missed most of last year’s Six Nations due to a knee injury but was back in the starting team for the opening summer Test against South Africa, with Gibson-Park unavailable through injury. Casey was enjoying one of his best performances for Ireland before being forced off following a nasty head injury in Pretoria. He subsequently missed the second Test and had a frustrating November on the back of Munster’s poor run of form – failing to make the squad for the opening Test against New Zealand and coming of the bench in the games against Argentina and Australia, either side of his sole start v Fiji. Casey is the clear frontrunner to challenge Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Due to return from injury with Munster in the coming weeks, Casey is facing into a pivotal point of his international career and will hope to provide real competition for the outstanding Gibson-Park, who turned 33 last month. Ben Murphy has been in camp as a development player and Nathan Doak has also been in the senior set-up without pushing his way into a squad. The yet to be confirmed summer tour to Georgia and Portugal should give some of these players opportunities but will likely have more of a development feel, meaning the 1 November game against New Zealand in Chicago will be the first real indication of where Ireland stand without their three retired centurions. It’s a question interim head coach Simon Easterby addressed in Rome last weekend. “They’ve really left their mark on the team, on Irish rugby, and certainly, internally, they’ve had a real impact on management, coaches and players,” Easterby said. “The team has to move forward and has to produce the next Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray. That’s the challenge.” Ciarán Kennedy View 7 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Are Ireland ready for life without Healy, O'Mahony and Murray?”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Are Ireland ready for life without Healy, O'Mahony and Murray?”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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