ON RUGBY:ARE WE kidding ourselves about Ireland and the recent generation of players? Viewed dispassionately, Ireland's results graph over the last seven or eight years would suggest that a relatively golden if slightly unfulfilling era (circa 2000-2007) peaked with that epic, 43-13 win over England and the eight-try, 50-pointer in Rome which ultimately left them one try shy of a first championship title since 1985.
Three Triple crowns in the previous four campaigns are not to be sniffed at, and set against the 1990s, which yielded nought, the Noughties have indeed been comparatively bountiful. Yet – and sorry to go on about this – since that 51-24 win over an Italian side which had enjoyed its best Championship, Ireland have played 15 Tests against countries ranked in the world’s top 10 and have won only four.
Nor do they read like an A-list of scalps – Italy at home twice, and once fortuitously, Scotland at home and an injury-depleted Argentina at home.
Set against the 11 defeats, that would suggest, in line with the world ranking, that Ireland are on a downward graph.
In any event, it’s clear that a change in coaching and strategy was required, with one eye on a rebuilding job. Alas, although the IRFU said they deal in World Cup cycles, the reality is that they have never done so, and so it is that Declan Kidney and his coaching ticket have effectively missed out on the first year of a World Cup cycle, while the need to hang on to eighth place in the rankings for last December’s World Cup draw further reduced their scope for manoeuvre.
Today Kidney will announce his first Six Nations’ team selection. After just three matches in his first 35 weeks since succeeding Eddie O’Sullivan, Kidney must find the relative inactivity of a Test coach head-wrecking when set against the life he knew for a decade as a provincial coach.
In terms of selection, O’Sullivan’s approach was increasingly very much with the next game solely in mind. There was the jettisoning of Anthony Foley midway through a World Cup cycle, and the conversion/promotion of Denis Leamy to the number eight jersey, but for the most part O’Sullivan clearly preferred to rely on his favoured XV. Even those on the bench must not have felt much a part of things, not least because, in most instances, they were only used if somebody broke a leg, or they barely had time to work up a sweat.
Kidney is no slave to “experimentation” or “rotation”; indeed he appears to despise them and has said that caps should be earned. But another buzz-phrase since he came to the helm has been “building a squad”, and the evidence of the November internationals was that we will have to adjust our thinking when it comes to the Irish selection policy.
Ireland used 26 players against Canada, New Zealand and Argentina, of whom 22 started at least one of the three games, and it could be that Ireland will use all, even along with one or two more, in the course of the coming championship.
And, although Kidney himself was usually a conservative employer of a bench, there might, again, be the novel concept of replacements being used to have an impact on games, even if November (removing Luke Fitzgerald against the All Blacks, not bringing on Eoin Reddan against Argentina) sent out mixed signals.
Take scrumhalf. Reddan has missed out for the moment, but it could be that he hasn’t been entirely cut adrift, or is even nominally third choice scrumhalf. While Tomás O’Leary’s form makes him, all of a sudden, a near certainty for the number nine jersey after making his debut against the All Blacks, there’s no doubt Peter Stringer’s service remains the quickest and that the extra time and space this affords the Irish backline is worth having in reserve, all the more so as a game opens up.
Up front, hooker and number eight look to be the marginal calls. It would be no surprise if the management opt for Rory Best’s setpiece and defensive efficiency, and leadership, over Jerry Flannery’s superior dynamism. However, the latter’s performance against Sale showed Flannery has rediscovered himself, in which case it really shouldn’t be an issue.
With the form of David Wallace and Stephen Ferris leaving no room for argument about the flankers – unless one were to play Wallace at eight – that leaves one slot in the backrow.
Denis Leamy hasn’t had much time to rediscover himself, but Jamie Heaslip has slipped a little into Rocky Elsom’s shadow at Leinster and it would be no surprise to see Leamy – who must be fresh – start.
The choices in midfield and among the outside three are almost mindboggling. Kidney and co would surely love to have seen Gordon D’Arcy in midfield for Leinster, but instead, after three games on the wing when he looked in good shape, the player of the Championship five years ago has been confined to two cameos off the bench.
Paddy Wallace’s form has been compelling, but he has understandably been earmarked as Ronan O’Gara’s understudy.
Hence, the inclusion of Luke Fitzgerald or Keith Earls alongside Brian O’Driscoll, with the other incorporated on the wing (in Fitzgerald’s case) or fullback (with regard to Earls), could offer the prospect of a backline stuffed with gamebreakers. For there is also the scope to include any two from Geordan Murphy, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Shane Horgan and D’Arcy.
But to maximise the potential of such an array of runners, it is imperative Kidney demand of Alan Gaffney that the backline play with a fraction more depth than they or Leinster have been doing, to give them every opportunity of being put in one-on-ones in the outside channels.
Coupled with a dynamic, ball-carrying backrow, if everybody from one to XV is as ruthless as Munster were in clearing out against Sale (a template of sorts for this Irish team) then who knows.
Most of all, you just hope that Ireland unveil a team designed to have a go right from the first weekend, and that they truly do have a go. So, set against statistical evidence of a possible decline, unless we’re kidding ourselves Kidney and his think-tank would appear to be selecting from a position of relative health and strength.
