It is 30 March 1981. The time is 2.30 in the afternoon on the pavement just outside the Washington Hilton in Downtown DC. John Hinckley jnr bursts out from the crowd with a Rohm R9-14 22 calibre revolver. Obsessed with Jodie Foster through the character she played in the movie Taxi Driver, Hinckley – obviously barking mad – feels that Foster would be really impressed if he assassinates Ronald Reagan, President of the United States for just 69 days at that stage.

Hinckley emptied the entire chamber within three seconds at almost point-blank range. Amazingly the flute missed with all six bullets. A ricochet though caught Reagan under the left lung and he went down.

The Commander-in-Chief was transferred to George Washington University Hospital and operated on immediately in the emergency room, joking to staff "please tell me you're all Republicans" before he was anaesthetised.

Meanwhile the political tensions all over the world were at fever pitch. America went to Defcon 1 and stock markets plunged – it was an unnerving moment in history.

Back at the ranch after a cabinet meeting, Secretary of State General Alexander Haig, straight out of Dr Strangelove makes the situation 100 times worse by declaring at a press conference, "as of now, I am in control here in the White House."

Pampers made a fortune that day – the Cuban missile crisis? The Berlin Blockade? Forget it, the couple of hours that Haig was in charge was the closest the world had come to ending. Official protocols were changed immediately after that episode to ensure that the wrong man never gets to that position ever again.

It's 20 November 1994, the time is just 4.00 in the afternoon. The playing surface in Lansdowne Road sees another episode of that magnitude. Another Commander-in-Chief is down on the ground breathing heavily. Security men and medical personnel huddle around him.

Brendan Mullin has just torn a thigh muscle and he is rushed off the field. There are 20 minutes to go in a test match against the mighty USA Eagles. The world is about to change for the worst. General Alexander Francis gathers all the players around, "as of now, I'm in control here."

Fourteen voices, plus the bagman retort in unison "Would you ever go and shite." However, word came in from the sideline – I was vice captain and pack leader that day – there was no ceremonial transference of the captain's armband. Nobody in the crowd or watching TV noticed – the stock market didn't crash – but one ghoul from the Living Dead noticed that it was me pointing to the posts for a penalty kick and from that day onwards official protocols were changed to ensure that I never got near the captaincy of the Irish team again. No more Travis Bickle in charge.

If you have the wrong man in charge, particularly on a rugby field, you are in trouble. The flip-side of that is that it is important to have the right man in charge, particularly at test level. If you cannot motivate, lead or articulate, it ain't the job for you. If you are tactically naïve or unable to think on your feet or under pressure you shouldn't be there. If you are unable to carry your coaches' game plan out onto the field and put it into effect or be able to alter or modify it as circumstances change you should not be there either. The difference between a Premier League soccer captain and a rugby captain is vast. In soccer a captain's armband is like an accessory: gel, diamond stud, tattoo, and captain's armband. So with the rare exception of Roy Keane or John Terry, captaincy is an irrelevancy in football. It's essential in rugby.

Ireland's rugby team has had a very good captain since 2004. It's no coincidence that three Triple Crowns have been garnered in that time – we had the right man in the right job. Eddie had the best player on the team and he had control of him. No egos, no clash of opinion or tactical divergence – Eddie was in charge but ideally he still had a strong captain admired and respected by all. Admired and respected, not because he led by example or made decisive plays at vital moments, but because he put his neck and his balls on the line when he didn't really have to. He put his own personal safety at risk in the tackle or at ruck time because that's the sort of player he is. Other players gravitate to that sort of behaviour – alpha male – it's a natural thing.

O'Driscoll is 29. Cheika and himself talked about giving someone else a go – a new impetus, a difference imperative. That's cool, it's exactly what he needs.

Years ago I captained Leinster against Swansea in St Helens, our captain was sick. I was praying that management wouldn't give it to me. They were praying that they wouldn't have to give it to me. I preferred to talk and instruct without the stripes and responsibility. After ten minutes we were 18-0 down, it was going to be 100-0. I was going to be a pub quiz question. Who was the worst Leinster captain of all time? Very simple tactical instructions were issued behind the posts; one being that the game had started 10 minutes ago. We dragged ourselves back into it and won by a few points – but the effort and sheer dint of responsibility were just unpleasant – even the captain's speech at the after match function was unnerving. That was just one match – there was a Heino match in a few weeks – team talks, dressing room talks, even tossing the coin – bollocks to that. Don't let anyone tell you different, being the captain is a pain in the arse – no other way of describing it. My duty was for one match, I couldn't contemplate doing it for a whole season. Imagine doing it for several seasons, it's grating, wearing, mind-numbing even.

So when Cheika announced it to the press that Brian O'Driscoll was relinquishing the captaincy of Leinster to Leo Cullen, what he really meant to say was that he had a pain in his hole from doing the job and he'd like to give it up. I was just wondering what took him so long. As far as the Leinster captaincy goes, it's a non-story. The Ireland job? Sin scéal eile.

When Driceaux decided to annoy the hell out of Biarritz by pretending he was going to join them, the precursor to that was a statement by the centre that "he hadn't learned a thing" that season, in other words whoever was in charge didn't really know how to turn on this chocolate back-line. I wonder who that was? Years later the first thing that Declan Kidney does when he gets the post is to fly a flag to say that Brian O'Driscoll will not be captain of his side. Eddie's choice might not necessarily be Deco's choice. So we all chew on our fingernails until the November internationals.

If he is going to be replaced then there is only one man who could successfully do it – Paul O'Connell. It's hard to mask my admiration for all his considerable qualities, but one thing bugs me, for all of his undoubted leadership and motivational ability, Ireland have never played well under his stewardship. The right man to come in when O'Driscoll is injured but he never seemed to get the team to hum the way O'Driscoll could. Check the stats and the videos.

The other element is equilibrium. In my reckoning there will be eight Munster players in the starting team in November. Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 – nine if Leamy was fit with six Leinster players 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 – possibly seven – Jennings another captaincy candidate. Munster coach, Munster captain and majority of the side from Munster – Ireland might as well play in red. You have to keep the equilibrium. O'Connell did a tremendous job in Heino 2007 but captaining Ireland is a different story.

Kidney's plans could backfire a little too. The Lions job is up for grabs. There is no question that O'Driscoll wants it. The Taffies, because of their Grand Slam, think that there will be 30 of them travelling with Ryan Jones as captain. Anything can happen in nine months – Jones wasn't even in the squad prior to the Six Nations – and while he is injury prone let's just say he is the favourite at the moment. O'Driscoll is an obvious contender, but Kidney has a huge role to play. O'Connell too could captain the Lions – Kidney's choice could determine which one of them gets that job – he is going to have to be very careful how he chooses his captain. You are dealing with two very ambitious young men, you have got to pick the right man without pissing the other one off.

nfrancis@tribune.ie