Six Nations: Rory Best prepares to live out his childhood dream

The Ulster hooker leads a team showing two injury-enforced changes following the agonising 17-17 draw with France, with lock Donnacha Ryan and scrum-half Eoin Reddan replacing Paul O’Connell and Conor Murray.

Best has been given the captaincy after O’Connell was ruled out of Ireland’s two remaining games against Scotland and England with a knee injury.

It is a role the 29-year-old has performed twice before against Canada and the United States during the 2009 summer tour, but his recognition for the Six Nations holds far greater personal significance.

Elder brother Simon also skippered Ireland twice – against Argentina in 2007 – before retiring a year later due to an irregular heartbeat.

And while Saturday will be a proud day for Best’s family, he will only be able to enjoy the occasion if wooden spoon contenders Scotland are dispatched at the Aviva Stadium.

“It’s a great honour to captain this side. It’s something you dream of doing,” said Best, who revealed he has made a full recovery from the rib injury sustained against France.

“As a family we travelled down to the old Lansdowne Road year after year.

“You always see the captain coming out first. It’s something you dream of.

“You never think you’ll get there, but then you start to play for Ulster and Ireland and then get leadership roles within that. At that point you dare to dream.

“It’s a fantastic honour for the family. Simon will be one of the first to congratulate me, he’s followed my career closely since he retired. He’s always been there to give me advice.

“It will be a nice day for the family, but it will only be good for me if we go out and get a result.”

Ireland have now lost two Lions captains for the championship with Brian O’Driscoll already unavailable having undergone shoulder surgery. Saturday will be the first time the Irish have entered a major Test without O’Driscoll or O’Connell since 2005 when Simon Easterby was skipper for heavy defeats by New Zealand and Australia.

“When you look back to 2005 when they were both missing, quite a few players who were inexperienced came in.

“A lot of pressure was thrown on Simon Easterby,” Best said.

“Now it’s different and that’s the advantage of Brian and Paul being around for so long, senior players beneath them have been under no pressure to develop.

“They’ve done things at their own pace and we’ve seen that with Jamie Heaslip captaining Leinster and myself at Ulster. Other voices have come through as well.”

Best will equal Keith Wood’s record as Ireland’s most capped hooker when he plays in his 58th Test on Saturday.

An influential member of the squad who has been in outstanding form since last summer, he was the automatic choice when O’Connell entered the treatment room.

“When I’ve captained Ulster I’ve tried to lead by example,” he said.

“A lot of it is leading by example. When you get to this level the boys don’t really need to be told what to do.

“They just need to see you’re doing it and they’ll wade in behind you. I hope to continue on from Paul in that regard.”

Keith Earls (groin), Donncha O’Callaghan (ankle), Sean O’Brien (foot) and Jonathan Sexton (foot) failed to train yesterday and their fitness will be assessed throughout the week.