There is deep, deep disquiet out there with the IRFU over their actions last week. It's not simply that they changed the head coach. It's the unmitigated arrogance with which the union do not feel obliged to explain their decision to the rugby public. But then that's the IRFU committee structure for you. They are answerable to no one but themselves.
They're quick enough to implore the public to come along and support Team Ireland, or to implore the clubs to sell tickets into the right hands. But they're not even answerable to the clubs any more, much less the rugby community. You wonder if they're truly in touch with the public.
For many in the game the past week has been a reminder of the inherent flaw in having amateurs running a professional game through an outmoded committee structure. That for all the improvements in Irish rugby these past few years, the need remains for the IRFU to emulate their Southern Hemisphere counterparts and let the professionals run the show.
No doubt now they will have us believe that the promotion of Declan Kidney to an all-Irish coaching ticket alongside Eddie O'Sullivan is a reflection of their desire to promote and develop home-grown coaches. Yet when Munster were first looking for a full-time coach, and Kidney applied for the vacancy, the union initially overlooked him and went scouring the world for alternatives. Only when the likes of Derek Bevan and Andy Leslie rejected their overtures did they eventually plump for Kidney.
And when they give their backs a rest from all the slapping over their much-lauded structures and the largely home-based international squad, it's no harm remembering that Gatland was a prime mover in that process. He argued for a home-and-away interpro series, he argued for bigger professional squads at provincial level and he bravely and publicly encouraged players to return home by stating he would prefer home-based players in tight selection calls.
We owe him a lot. The 1990s were, statistically, Ireland's worst decade. Record defeats to established nations or first defeats to up-and-coming nations were commonplace. Undoubtedly, Gatland's Ireland came up short at the 1999 World Cup when losing to Argentina in Lens in the quarter-final play-off. That was followed up by a lamentable 50-19 defeat to England, and if there was a time to remove Gatland then that was surely it.
Still, it's funny how things pan out. Donal Lenihan went on to manage the Lions and will be given a full-time role in the IRFU. Gatland was never really forgiven, and despite a significant upturn in fortunes his detractors in the union (whose dissatisfaction was not assuaged by a coach ill-inclined to mollycoddle them) got their man last week.
To call the IRFU committee men interfering amateurs is to do them a disservice really. These are no pussycats. There's always been a restless, and ruthless, hiring and firing streak in the IRFU. And heaven help a coach if he steps out of line in any way by, say, agitating for an improved contract, by backing the players in demands for better treatment or better pay, or simply getting too close to them. He is just cut off at the knees. Ask Roly Meates, or Gerry Murphy, or Murray Kidd or Willie Anderson.
The journey from wanted to unwanted, in either direction, can be a fickle and short one. Last season, an injury-hit Leinster lost three successive games away to Ulster, Connacht and Edinburgh Reivers. Before the next match in Donnybrook, against Biarritz, a Leinster committee man grumbled within earshot of several people: "If we lose again tonight (Matt) Williams is gone."
Leinster have since lost just one of their 19 games, winning a dozen on the spin this season to reach the Celtic League semi-finals and European Cup quarter-finals. Just as well they beat Biarritz then, heh?
Some of the would-be kingmakers had reacted angrily to Ireland's Murrayfield defeat and scarcely concealed their displeasure. Heck, it must have even detracted from their enjoyment of their trip to Cardiff, the win over England and the highly-charged show against the All Blacks.
Looking back on the Gatland reign, it's hard not to conclude that his goose was already in the oven at maximum temperature the moment he followed up on a request from the union to hire Eddie O'Sullivan as his assistant, whereupon the assistant coach was also put on a longer contract. "Ambitious" is an adjective commonly used to describe O'Sullivan by those who know him well and, either way, Gatland was probably doomed if we did improve, and doomed if we didn't.
The new team of O'Sullivan and Kidney smacks of an Irish solution to an Irish problem. Keen to accommodate the ambitions of both men, the IRFU kingmakers have managed to contrive what has been laughably referred to as a dream ticket.
The fact that they are both former backs, as is manager Brian O'Brien, needn't necessarily be a hindrance. O'Sullivan coached the USA Eagles forwards, and as head coach oversaw a Buccaneers side who were reknowned for their forward play, albeit at AIL level.
It could prove quite productive, of course, and, who knows, may indeed see a talented team raise the bar even further. Both are highly pragmatic, practical men well capable of adapting seamlessly to their new arrangements. At least O'Sullivan has the assurance of operating under the same contractual arrangements as his assistant (until 2004), unlike his predecessor. But it would have been interesting if O'Sullivan, for the sake of argument, had insisted on appointing his own assistant. After all, I recall that when such a debate arose over whether Mick McCarthy should be granted his choice of assistant, the likes of Johnny Giles, Eoin Hand and others were adamant that he should be, and the FAI duly complied. It shows trust in the head coach. Indeed, at practically every level in virtually all professional sports it is common for the coach to appoint his assistants without interference from his employers. But as we were reminded last week, the IRFU are very much a law unto themselves.
gthornley@irish-times.ie
