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RUGBY:ALTHOUGH THE initial reaction appears almost to have registered on the Richter scale, in actual fact selecting Jonathan Sexton ahead of Ronan O’Gara to play South Africa at Croke Park on Saturday is not quite the seismic shock it might first appear.

This is, relatively speaking, still a new regime, with a new way of thinking compared to before. And, loyal bloke though he is, in promoting the likes of Tomás O’Leary and Denis Hurley ahead of Peter Stringer and Shaun Payne in the knock-out stages of Munster’s 2008 Heineken Cup, and even Donncha Ryan ahead of Anthony Foley on the bench, Declan Kidney has shown he is not afraid of making emotionally tough calls for the greater good.