Rugby:Declan Kidney does not believe the groin problem that forced Ireland fullback out of last night's defeat in France will threaten his involvement in the forthcoming World Cup. Kearney limped off the field at the Stade Chaban Delmas early in the second half but did not appear in too much discomfort on the sidelines.
The IRFU will issue an injury update later this evening, but speaking after last night’s 19-12 reverse in Bordeaux the Ireland coach did not seem overly concerned about the problem. “Rob pulled up with a tight groin. I’d hope it’s not serious,” Kidney told reporters.
Kidney refused to be cheered by a vastly improved second-half performance as Ireland lost their second warm-up match on the bounce. Les Bleus looked like World Cup contenders as they raced into a 13-0 lead with some outstanding rugby capped by Vincent Clerc’s try. But they fell away in the second half and Ireland took advantage by staging a fightback inspired by Ronan O’Gara that ultimately fell short.
“I’d hate to go back into the past and say that I’m glad we had a really good second half,” said Kidney. “That’s the sort of thing we would have said in the past. We lost the game and that’s what we need to look at it. In the first half we did a bit of damage to ourselves because we didn’t hang on to the ball too well.
“At the start France played well and we didn’t play like we’re capable of. When you put those together you’ll end up doing a lot of defence. Our defence has had a lot of practice over the last couple of weeks. We must look at doing more of what we did in the second half, but one half doesn’t count — you must do that for 80 minutes.”
Andrew Trimble admits the failure to contain France’s early onslaught led to Ireland’s downfall.
“They came out of the blocks fairly quickly but we knew they were going to do that,” said the Ulster winger. “They like to start fast to take the pace out of your own game. If they don’t do that, they end up chasing their tails a little bit.
“If things don’t go their way they have a habit of getting frustrated and a bit tired. Then the game flipped and it looked like we were going to be in the ascendancy but we never quite got there
“It’s tough coming to France. The crowd get on your backs and there’s bit of a carnival atmosphere, everyone’s having a good time. It’s very difficult to stop the rot and get back into the game, but we did manage to change the tide a bit.”
France lurched from the sublime to the ridiculous in a flash, attacking the second half with gusto until a break from Kearney saw the initiative dramatically change hands. It was only then that Ireland could compete on equal terms with O’Gara eating away at the deficit through a string of penalties.
A late assault on the French line aimed at securing a draw was repelled as Ireland slumped to their second consecutive defeat of their summer series.
Ireland have an immediate opportunity to avenge defeat with the teams set to meet again on Saturday, while on Thursday a second string face Connacht.
Kidney will announce a team closer in identity to his first choice XV for the return at the Aviva Stadium with Paul O’Connell, Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace expected to start. It is important Ireland build some momentum for New Zealand by winning their two remaining internationals, against France and England seven days later.
Preparations for the World Cup are now entering a critical stage with the extended squad set to be reduced to a final 30 tomorrow week. Major injury concerns hang over Gordon D’Arcy and Stephen Ferris, while the fitness of Brian O’Driscoll and Tommy Bowe is also in doubt.
