Ireland's forwards coach tells John O'Sullivan how he came to terms with his demanding new role
It's seems a little trite to categorise it was a 'baptism of fire' but for Niall O'Donovan, the bedding-in period as forwards coach to the national team was minuscule. Warren Gatland's removal as Ireland coach, and the accession of Eddie O'Sullivan in his stead, was quickly followed by the appointment of Declan Kidney and O'Donovan as assistants.
Last season's Six Nations Championship loomed large, so the acclimatisation period was brief for all concerned. For O'Donovan it represented a tremendous honour on the one hand, but it was tinged with a degree of trepidation. If he didn't know the exact parameters of his new role and the media attention it commanded, he soon would.
"I had no idea. I suppose I didn't really anticipate the job offer so I never dwelled on it for too long. It's a huge difference from what I had been accustomed. Winning at club and provincial level doesn't prepare you for this. At national level you are far more in the limelight. There is a lot more focus on you. The big difference is trying to get used to that.
"Everything is analysed in far greater detail and when things go wrong as the lineouts did for a while last season, the focus can be very damaging. It was like a domino effect. The lineouts were criticised, the hookers got uptight, you were trying to get them to relax and all the while hoping to come out the far side. You know that the problems can be rectified, it's just a question of having the time and space to do it.
"There was no way that I could simply come in and start changing everything around immediately. I actually tried not to change too much, just to concentrate on getting things right. For some of the games it came right in others it most definitely did not. I'd say the tour to New Zealand was the first time that all of us as coaches could work with the players on an individual basis and on a unit basis as well.
"Time is always the factor. The important thing was not to put too much pressure on them. It had to be brought in on a phased basis."
His first international against Wales saw the team romp to an unqualified success, the lineouts scrums and forward play, exemplary. The lineouts in the Scotland game proved a stark contrast, despite the fact that Ireland won the match comfortably.
The thrashings by England and France saw the minutiae of Irish performances teased out in column inches, the displays of the Irish pack regarded in an unflattering light. It was tough on all concerned but from it sprang a resolve.
There was also a mitigating factor although O'Donovan was reluctant to offer it as an excuse. "Last season was a funny season for me in the sense that I was still involved with Munster. I was really double jobbing up until the end of May. Doing both (jobs, Munster and Ireland forwards coach) last season was a strain on both teams and me. This (the national team) job on its own is demanding so to try and piggy back something on top, it just wasn't on really."
Touring New Zealand was the real beginning for the Irish team management, the tinkering with patterns and structures more than just cosmetic. There followed the training camps in Poland and two-week long sessions in Limerick: "It allowed us the time we craved to work with the players," O'Donovan conceded.
Tomorrow Ireland face Argentina at Lansdowne Road on the cusp of an impressive treble, victories over world champions Australia and Fiji already secured. The Pumas pack is celebrated as one of the best in the world, a new challenge, the bar rising once again.
Ireland's set-piece play has been excellent from the New Zealand tour on but O'Donovan is not about to rest on his laurels, his introduction to the job a reminder on how fickle fate can be.
"Winning these matches is a major stepping stone to where we want to go. It would provide the breathing space to continue with what we feel is the right approach."
