Schmoozing is part of the job. Being a rugby captain requires many skills but working the referee is arguably the most important one of all. Brian O'Driscoll was great at it. Always approached officials with a smile on his face and was constantly stressing areas where he felt his team were dominating or where the opposition was infringing.
Obviously Richie McCaw was a jedi. Picked up a handful of yellow cards during his career where he should have picked up a handful per GAME. And of course there was Martin Johnson and those intimidatingly furrowed eyebrows. When he spoke, he spoke with authority.
It is worth mentioning these great captains on the back of Ireland's loss to France today. A bad loss to a bad team. Joe Schmidt's men weren't helped by some questionable refereeing decisions but they also weren't helped by their captain.
Best is new to the role at international level and while he might not be an overly gregarious personality he needs to learn how to better influence referees. Peyper failed to card two French players for blatant dangerous tackles in the first half.
Best needed to be in Peyper's ear reminding him of France's propensity for cheap shots throughout the game but the hooker seemed more focused on playing the game, which is obviously his primary role.
But a captain needs to balance his duties - Peyper was there to be influenced this afternoon and it could have benefited Ireland had Best stressed his points more fervently.
Chris Robshaw was criticized regularly for apparently not being able to control referees like Martin Johnson once did. It is very early into Rory Best's tenure as captain but so far he hasn't mastered that part of the job either.
