Ireland captain Rory Best has been ruled out of June's tour of Australia with a hamstring injury, head coach Joe Schmidt confirmed.
Schmidt was speaking at a news conference on Friday (AEST) to announce that Best, a veteran of 111 caps who led his side to Six Nations Grand Slam glory this year, would be unavailable for the three-match series.
Munster's Niall Scannell takes Best's place in the travelling party, while Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony will share captain duties against the Wallabies.
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Ireland face fixtures against Australia on June 9, 16 and 23 next month.
News. @N_Scannell222 will replace the injured @RoryBest2 for Ireland’s tour to Australia #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/o6untXnNIg
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) May 31, 2018
Elsewhere, Ireland fly-half Joey Carbery will swap Leinster for Pro14 rivals Munster next season.
Carbery has made 37 appearances for the Pro14 champions despite largely playing second fiddle to Sexton.
The 22-year-old is part of the Ireland squad for the Australia tour.