RUGBY:ON BBC Radio Five Live's lunchtime sports bulletin yesterday, it was announced that Declan Kidney had included six new caps in his RBS Six Nations' squad. By rights, such declarations should come with an advance warning to park the car and turn the engine off.
Of course, the normally outstanding Five Live hadn’t read the small print. In fact, it was right up there in the second paragraph that 24 players had been named in “the Ireland senior squad”, adding: “with six additional up and coming players named who will join the first week of Ireland camp in Limerick to train with the squad”.
A relatively conservative selector, Kidney is not the type of coach to blood six new caps simultaneously, even if it is the start of a new four-year cycle. A quintet of new caps didn’t prevent Ireland from beating Scotland 44-22 in 2000 and kick-starting Ireland’s most successful decade ever but, in truth, if they want to harbour notions of winning the Six Nations, there isn’t the case for such wholesale changes now.
So it is that the Ireland coach has retained 24 of the 30-man World Cup squad, the exceptions being the injured Brian O’Driscoll and Denis Leamy, the semi-retired Geordan Murphy, the third scrum-half and third hooker, Isaac Boss and Damien Varley, and Tony Buckley, who doesn’t even make the 22-man Wolfhounds’ squad for the game against the English Saxons on Saturday week – but that’s probably because that game doesn’t come under IRB regulation nine regarding release of players.
Unlike his counterparts, Kidney does not name a Six Nations squad per se, so it isn’t necessarily the case that yesterday’s unveiling of a 24-man squad, a 22-man Wolfhounds squad and the six tyros to beef up next week’s training, represents clear demarcation lines.
A clearer indication will be the 30-man squad named on Monday week, a day after the Wolfhounds’ game, and seven days before the Welsh encounter.
Rewind a year ago and Tomás O’Leary was named in the Wolfhounds’ squad away to Scotland, though reports of his demise proved unfounded after he played in the defeat to Scotland A and then started Ireland’s Six Nations’ opener in Rome.
The player most likely to fall into that category this time round is, once more, the most eye-catching exclusion from the senior 24-man party, namely Luke Fitzgerald. He had looked in sensational from until being sidelined since St Stephen’s Day by recent injury woes. It would do his cause no harm if he played this weekend but either way Kidney and co clearly feel he needs game time in Exeter.
They again appear to be taking that view with O’Leary ahead of Paul Marshall in the Wolfhounds’ squad, for while both have been mostly confined to roles off the bench, Marshall’s ability to up Ulster’s tempo has been the more striking. Rather pointedly too, Marshall’s half-back partner and the Wolfhounds’ outhalf last season, Ian Humphreys, has been overlooked in favour of the Munster and Leinster back-up number 10s, the Ians – Keatley and Madigan.
It would be disappointing if Peter O’Mahony’s form for Munster did not see him ultimately make the 30-man squad a week before the Welsh game, although his presence as one of the six “up and coming players” mightn’t necessarily mean he’s behind the four Wolfhounds’ backrowers in the pecking order.
Ultimately, as ever, the big decisions have yet to be made, specifically who starts at four, nine, 10 and 13 against Wales. Leo Cullen is included, despite being due an operation on his troublesome Achilles in Sweden next week, though that is pending a decision by the Irish and Leinster managements. Given he would appear to be fourth in the lock pecking order, it would make perfect sense for the Leinster captain to take his eight- to ten-week sabbatical now, all the more so as he has evidently been playing in pain.
That leaves a choice between Donnacha Ryan or Donncha O’Callaghan to start alongside Paul O’Connell in the secondrow, the half-back positions (probably Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton to start) and who plays at 13 in O’Driscoll’s absence. Most likely this is between Keith Earls, who has filled the void on the last three occasions the great man has been injured or rested, and Tommy Bowe, who was run there during the two-day Christmas get-together at Carlton House.
One or other will probably start on the wing in a back three featuring Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney, so it is quite conceivable a dozen or so of the World Cup quarter-final line-up will kick-off the Six Nations opener.
That opener against Wales is more pivotal than most.
With Italy and Scotland to come at the Aviva, a victory would give Ireland momentum and leave them well set to at least win their three home games. With treks to Stade de France six days later (when they will meet a French team most likely rejuvenated by Philippe Saint Andre replacing Marc Lievremont and an opening win at home to Italy the previous Saturday) and Twickenham for the St Patrick’s Day finale, Ireland could swing from the hip. But were they to lose to Wales the outlook would look considerably less serene heading to Paris and beyond.
Throw in the sides’ last meeting, in that crushing quarter-final defeat in Wellington, and the Welsh game already looks campaign-defining. Accordingly, Kidney is of a mind to give the vast bulk of that side a shot at some sort of redemption.
Ireland training squads
Senior (24)
Rory Best (Ulster), Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Tom Court (Ulster), Seán Cronin (Leinster), Leo Cullen (Leinster), Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Shane Jennings (Leinster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Seán O’Brien (Leinster), Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster), Paul O’Connell (Munster), Ronan O’Gara (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster)
Additional players (6)
Ian Nagle (Munster)*, Peter O’Mahony (Munster)*, Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht)*, Paddy McAllister (Ulster)*, Andrew Conway (Leinster)*, Simon Zebo (Munster)*
Wolfhounds (22)
Stephen Archer (Munster)*, Isaac Boss (Leinster), Gavin Duffy (Connacht), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Denis Hurley (Munster), David Kearney (Leinster)*, Ian Keatley (Munster), Ronan Loughney (Connacht)*, Ian Madigan (Leinster)*, Mike McCarthy (Connacht), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), John Muldoon (Connacht), Tomás O’Leary (Munster), Eoin O’Malley (Leinster)*, Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), Mike Sherry (Munster)*, Nevin Spence (Ulster)*, Devin Toner (Leinster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), Damien Varley (Munster), Brett Wilkinson (Connacht)*
Not considered due to injury
Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), David Wallace (Munster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Felix Jones (Munster), Jerry Flannery (Munster), Eoin Griffin (Connacht)*, Denis Leamy (Munster), Niall Ronan (Munster)
* denotes uncapped player
