Declan Kidney has made one of the boldest calls of his career with the Irish team he announced today, but did he make the right decisions? Two JOEs argue the case.
Declan Whooley says… one of the major criticisms levelled at Declan Kidney is that his squad and starting XV selections are inherently conservative and he is reluctant to make changes during the course of some games. While his hand has been forced this weekend to a large extent, he appears to have thrown caution to the wind and has picked arguably his strongest possible team.
The losses of Cian Healy, Mike McCarthy, Jonny Sexton, Simon Zebo and Gordon D’Arcy to injury and suspension robs Ireland of their main ball carrier in the front row, our in-form second row, our central playmaker, most potent back and defensive lynchpin. Whatever way you try to dress it up, for a country with the pool of players we have, to lose five players has a significant impact. But enough of the doom and gloom. There is still a Championship to be won and Kidney has laid his cards on the table.
The selection of Paddy Jackson and Luke Marshall will not only have the Ulstermen purring, it is a sign that the manager is open to change. A quick browse at all the media reports last night and this morning will show the level of surprise that Ronan O’Gara has not been chosen at out-half. Games at Murrayfield tend to be dogged affairs, ideally suited to the Munster man’s kicking for the corners game.
However, Jackson has been given his moment to shine and he does represent the future, though it is a tough call on a player of O’Gara’s quality. Some have argued the case for Ian Madigan’s inclusion, given his form and Jackson’s kicking during his last big outing – the Heineken Cup Final – but he possibly shades it on the defensive duties, which will be tested to the last.
Outside him he will have a familiar face in Luke Marshall taking over D’Arcy’s number 12 jersey. Marshall has buckets of talent and seems destined to have a long career in a green jersey. He will have the best possible company outside of him, though it is unusual to make your first competitive Irish start before a start in the Heineken Cup. Hopefully he will get a chance to show his eye for the gap and is another exciting prospect in our back division.
Keith Earls was always favoured to take the spot vacated by Zebo, a position many feel suits his attacking strengths. The presence of Luke Fitzgerald on the bench will be a fillip to most fans who would love to see the Leinster man return to his form of old. After a series of injuries, he is on the right track and will have no shortage of motivation if sprung from the replacements.
Donnacha O’Callaghan fought off competition from Iain Henderson for the second-row spot, but there is merit to this. An outstanding prospect, Henderson is a back-row who can cover at lock and considering the Scottish duo of Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton, one experienced head is essential and O’Callaghan fits the bill.
The only reservation I would have would be the inclusion of Tom Court in the starting team ahead of David Kilcoyne. Nothing to do with ability, more the logic behind it. The Ulster prop has been one of his province’s main performers this season, thriving in his natural position of loose head, while Kilcoyne too has had an excellent campaign. Court maybe shades it in scrummaging, though the Munster prop is more dynamic with ball in hand. Though if Kidney chose Kilcoyne on the bench for the opening two games, why pick Court now?
That aside, the bottom line is that this is an Irish team without five key figures and Kidney has made some brave calls with his replacements. Hopefully the new caps can showcase their talents against a Scottish side going for two in a row. The injection of youth should be enough to see off Scotland, but all eyes will be on Kidney’s gamble.
If this were a game of cards, he is going all in.
Conor Heneghan says… the fact that there were more leaks in the Irish camp than there was in the roof of the National Aquatic Centre back in the day means that the impact of today’s Irish team announcement wasn’t as high up the Richter Scale as it might have been, but it’s still pretty big news.
The main story was the selection of Paddy Jackson ahead of Ronan O’Gara at out-half and putting aside how it will impact the game at the weekend for a second, the decision has massive ramifications for ROG’s international career, which, when you analyse it coldly, is as good as over at this stage.
Yes, just like the Germans, you can never write someone like O’Gara off, but even if he does make some meaningful contribution from the bench this weekend, can Kidney justify including him in a 23 when Sexton returns with Jackson, Ian Madigan and to a lesser extent for the moment at least, Ian Keatley, all waiting in the wings?
Romantics will say that ROG deserves better than that, but careers rarely end as one would like them and besides, that’s not the point. The question is whether he is still good enough to have an influence at this level and in my opinion, he’s not done yet.
Sure, O’Gara didn’t have his best game when brought on against England but not many Irish players did and he seemed to take the majority of the flak that could have been flung in the direction of nine or ten Irish players on the day. His subsequent display against Scarlets at the weekend seems to have a pretty big bearing on Kidney’s decision, but two bad games do not a bad player make and O’Gara deserved the chance to redeem himself against the Scots.
I have a lot of time for Paddy Jackson; he is a very good player and he will be an even better one, but this is a huge step up for a man who doesn’t look a day older than his 21 years.
It’s worth bearing in mind that Jackson was dropped from the Ulster team for the crucial Heineken Cup clash against Castres last month to accommodate Ruan Pienaar at out-half and, as was pointed out in The Irish Times today, that he last assumed place-kicking duties four weeks ago when in action for the Irish Wolfhounds.
There’s no doubt that Kidney was brave to go with Jackson, but if he was going to drop O’Gara, some would say – particularly observers from in and around the Pale – that he should have gone one step further and picked Ian Madigan, who is that little bit older and is in super form with Leinster at the moment.
Outside of the half-backs, O’Gara won’t be the only Munster man feeling a little pissed off this afternoon after the team was read out. One could argue that a grand total of 17 minutes in an Irish jersey doesn’t give you the right to be pissed off when not picked, but Dave Kilcoyne will be entitled to argue why he didn’t get the number one jersey for the simple reason that Tom Court hasn’t featured in a match-day squad in the Six Nations to date.
Granted, Court will be more familiar with Rory Best than Kilcoyne would have been, but the Munster man will be having doubts about Kidney’s faith in him after this snub.
The selections of Jackson and Court aside, it is hard to find too much fault with Kidney’s team on the basis that he had precious few alternatives available. He might look even younger than Jackson, but Luke Marshall looks like a very good prospect in the centre and although you could make a case for another Ulsterman, Iain Henderson, in the second row, Donncha O’Callaghan is having one of his better seasons and he has playing regularly alongside Donnacha Ryan all year.
It is Kidney’s choice at pivot which will, appropriately, be the most pivotal and I sincerely hope that Kidney doesn’t live to regret his decision to overlook a man who has done so much for him personally and for Ireland in the past.
Whether Jackson vindicates Kidney’s faith remains to be seen, but no matter if he does or he doesn’t, expect the camera to flash to O’Gara on the bench at least 35 times in Murrayfield on Sunday.
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