RUGBY:ALL THE best laid plans of mice and men, and all that. Declan Kidney had intended heading off to New Zealand next Tuesday with all of his squad having played at least two and a bit games but they've inevitably fallen short of that target, with fresh injury clouds hanging over Brian O'Driscoll and Seán O'Brien.
Discretion being the better part of valour, the captain has not been risked in the line of fire against Mike Tindall, Manu Tuilagi and co after suffering “a stinger” in his shoulder last week, which is probably not unwise.
As warm-up games go, tomorrow’s latest Anglo-Irish affair – with England in expressed vengeful mode for the events here last March when their Slam was spectacularly derailed – is liable to be on the warm side of roasting, so imagine the furore if O’Driscoll was ruled out of his fourth World Cup three days before departure? Better to have him under-cooked.
Along with O’Driscoll and Rob Kearney – of whom Kidney also felt it was “prudent” not to risk his groin strain – O’Brien could be seen running around yesterday’s O2 open day at the Aviva, when the heavens opened on about 3,500 supporters. O’Brien suffered a medial ligament injury last week, but according to the head coach, “the prognosis is that he should be available for the USA game” a fortnight hence.
Ireland have thus made seven changes and two positional from last week, with Tommy Bowe and David Wallace making belated seasonal re-appearances, while Geordan Murphy, Jerry Flannery and Stephen Ferris make their first test starts in nine, 18 and nine months respectively, and the halves rotate. The presence of both Donncha Ryan and Denis Leamy on the bench suggests that Ferris and Wallace may not complete 80 minutes.
À la England though, it is still a strong selection; perhaps no more than four or five shy of the optimum team to play Australia.
The reluctant utility man, Keith Earls, reverts to outside centre from the left wing, and in his last five tests has now played in three different positions, but never in the same position twice running. His favoured position is left-wing, while arguably his best display in that sequence was against England in March at fullback. Now he finds himself back at outside centre. Confused? He must be.
All that said and done, Ireland are going to have to become acquainted with life without Brian one day, and Earls is patently the best equipped to inherit a jersey that by rights should be eventually retired with the great man. But preferably not yet, and history has showed that despite injury scares, O’Driscoll is remarkably resilient.
In the last three World Cups, O’Driscoll has played in all of Ireland’s 13 games (he was a sub against Romania in ’99) and has missed only five of Ireland’s Six Nations games in 12 campaigns. Furthermore, in playing 68 of Ireland’s last 73 competitive matches, he has completed 80 minutes in all bar five of them.
At the other end of the spectrum, Conor Murray has yet to start a game this season, and must be content with a second cap off the bench. “It’s the way it is, you’d love to get all 30 of them started,” said Kidney. “He’s at that halfway house. He’s got into the 22 ahead of Isaac (Boss), because Isaac is fully deserving of his call as well and he just didn’t make it ahead of Eoin (Reddan), because Eoin has been doing well for us. In Conor’s case, just to be involved, he’ll be delighted and if he’s called on I’m sure he’ll enjoy the occasion.”
The sight of the red rose ought to concentrate Irish minds as much as vice versa, and according to Paul O’Connell: “It’s going to be high physicality, high pace, high intensity and for us it’s probably a great match to finish on.”
That 24-8 win over England last March remains a high point which Ireland hadn’t scaled for some time before, nor have they since. “Yeah, it is frustrating and I wouldn’t have all the answers as to why it has been like that,” admitted O’Connell. “I think we didn’t perform in the Six Nations as well as we could have and should have.
“By the time we reached the end of the tournament, we had been disappointed with how we had been performing and a lot of it manifested itself in that game. I think that’s where we need to be at and that’s where we should be at.”
The inability to re-scale those heights he attributed to new combinations. “But I don’t think it was a fluke, I don’t think it was a one-off. I think it’s a level we can consistently play at. I hope we get there and I think we will get there by the World Cup.”
Whereas Ireland have reached only one quarter-final in the last three World Cups, England won it in ’03 and reached the final in ’07. Ireland could maybe learn one lesson from this according to Kidney.
“If memory serves me right they got thumped in the first game of the last World Cup by South Africa. What they did is regroup and not panic and I think if we were to learn one thing that’s the one thing that stands out – don’t panic.
“I’ve been lucky with lads I’ve worked with in the past, if I’ve learned anything from them, you never get anywhere by panicking and we’re not doing that now. Thing is, we’ve not to do it in the future. We’ll just keep improving and stay focused on what we’re at and not let other things get in our way.
“Me, as much as anybody else, there’s a whole sideshow that comes with the World Cup, you can get tied up in a whole host of things and if you don’t keep these games in 100 per cent concentration then that’s it. The sideshow is for other people to enjoy, for us it’s just about the matches.”
