Former Irish captain Keith Wood was part of a four-man panel that conducted interviews for the position of Irish coach. Wood, who handed the captaincy over to Brian O'Driscoll when he retired and now works as an analyst for the BBC and The Daily Telegraph , was an independent consultant in the group that spoke to candidates.

Those included Leinster coach Joe Schmidt, who is considered the favourite to get the job, interim Irish coach Les Kiss and probably Ewen McKenzie, who also expressed an interest.

Wood was part of the panel with the IRFU’s chief executive Philip Browne and Martin O’Sullivan as well as a representative from the international sports marketing agency CSM.

The Irish hooker is well qualified to hold an opinion on who would make the best fit for Ireland, having played under a number of coaches at Garryowen, Harlequins, Munster, Ireland and the Lions during a stellar career.

Wood played on the 1997 and 2001 Lions tours, and was the inaugural winner of the IRB World Player of the Year award in 2001. He retired from playing after the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

The IRFU have not set a deadline by which the coaching decision must be made. The main constraint is Leinster’s position. The province may have to find a new coach if Schmidt is the successful candidate. Kiss, however, has been appointed to take the Irish team on the summer tour to North America and Canada