Does former Ireland captain Keith Wood believe Tommy Bowe is the answer for the No 13 shirt?
The 30-year-old Ulster player, who has predominantly featured on the wing, has indicated that he would be interesting in putting his hat in the ring for the position vacated by Brian O'Driscoll.
Keith and The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley joined us as always on Wednesday Night Rugby and gave their take on Bowe's potential.
"He's a very talented player and he's played there for the Lions at 13 in one of the test matches. He is very capable. Whether he is our 13 going forward, I don't know. I'd like a young guy coming up and grasping the jersey," said Keith
But Gerry is unsure whether Bowe will get a run at 13 regularly with Ulster which would boost his chances of moving in from the flank.
"All of this hinges on what the provinces do. I would be surprised if Tommy gets much of a run there given that Jared Payne now seems to be converted to 13. But he has all the requisite skill to play at 13," said Gerry, who also revealed that ex-Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe once told him that Bowe's greatest value was on the wing as he was the best finisher.
Listen back to Wednesday Night Rugby via the podcast player above
Meanwhile, Gerry does not think Leinster should hit the panic button yet after losing two of their first three Pro 12 matches of the season narrowly and Keith is also reserving caution.
Gerry highlighted Pat Lam's role in bringing a feel good factor to Connacht which has helped the province to three wins from three, although he thinks injuries could hit their momentum.
The lads also focused on Connacht out-half Kieran Marmion, who is being tipped to make an impact for Ireland and Gerry picked out his ability to "turn breaks into scores". But he had a word of caution in terms of his Ireland ambitions, citing the way that Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt made Simon Zebo work on aspects of his game before giving him greater prominence in his plans.
Keith also spoke about how Munster can replace the injured Donnacha Ryan in the short and medium term as well as the current atmosphere at Thomond Park.
And Gerry put on his fashion hat to critique the new Ireland rugby jersey.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
