After an expected but unspectacular win against Canada Ireland now go into this Saturday’s game with New Zealand needing to show true form. But why are experts surprised with his omissions of Kearney, O’Kelly, Reddan and promising Earls for the starting 15 against the Kiwi’s?
When Kidney signed on the dotted line for Ireland many were excited by this hugely successful coach taking on the Irish mantle. After adding plenty of international experience to his coaching panel the Irish public were guilty of going into this Autumn campaign expecting a new brush and some impressive scalps. In late October we saw a massive panel selected for the training camp, no surprises there. However with the new guns, Earls, Fitzgerald centre in flying out of the blocks this season then why are we and the analysts surprised with a tried a tested team name for this Saturday’s game?
Has everyone forgotten who we hired? Kidney, is first and foremost a man who built a conservative yet winning nature down in Munster. Be it the weather in Limerick or a belief in a system, we only once in his career saw and expansive game and that was because of his Kiwi signings last year. To be honest I thought this new expansive nature was completely overplayed, as highlighted in the snooze fest last 30mins his final game in charge in Cardiff last season. Do people not remember the ill-fated year at Leinster when he had O’Driscoll, Horgan, Hickie, Contepomi, Dempsey and Darcy at his exposal? Let’s just say they didn’t ignite any fires that season. Last season at Munster we saw both David Wallace and Denis Leamy play first centre for a game and remember when hardly any back scored a try for nearly the first quarter of the season following their first Heineken Cup win?
Why are there question marks over Fitzgerald and Earls not being in first centre when they both don’t have 5 games between them this year in that position? Kidney wants bashers and aggressive players or even no. 7’s there. Having radio and newspaper analysts screaming for these selections and their bewilderment of them not being there is just stupid. Come on lads, its your job to analyse and clearly you have not analysed the man that is Kidney enough. How can you question why Dempsey is starting at fullback, sure Kearny had a great tour last winter but isn’t starting in that position for his club. I’m sure Geordan Murphy is running past journey-men tackles in the Premiership but remember with ‘Konservative with a capital K, Kidney’, he see the truth that Dempsey is the consummate error-free option. His toughest selection at scrum half is not as hard as everyone thinks. Why should we be surprised Stringer isn’t starting, remember he dropped him last season. When it comes to Reddan v O’Leary, remember Kidney goes with what he knows and that is an ex-hurler from Cork not a player he didn’t stop moving to Wasps from Munster.
There is no doubt he is a winning coach and like most coaches they have a formulae, but why did we think Kidney would push the boat out? Remember all of this Autumn series is like a cup final for a ranking points. Maybe because we (or more particularly the pundits) became so expectant under Steady Eddie O’Sullivan and expected a bright new expansive hope in Kidney. All I have to say to those expecting adventurous new era of Irish rugby is, “come on did you not watch Munster play for the last few years, or did you fall asleep watching”?
Team for NZ: Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Quinlan, Wallace, Jennings, O'Leary, O'Gara, Trimble, O'Driscoll, Bowe, Horgan, Dempsey.
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