RUGBY: Ireland coach Declan Kidney today confirmed Brian O'Driscoll as his captain for the forthcoming Six Nations Championship while the Ireland Management also outlined their plans for the coming year.
There had been a strong case for Munster captain Paul O’Connell to take over the captaincy at international level, particularly after such dominant performances in the Heineken Cup.
O’Connell literally led from the front in the province’s bonus point win over Sale and was equally impressive in their win against Montauban at the weekend. That said, O’Driscoll has shown signs that he is close to his best again in recent games for Leinster.
O’Driscoll relinquished the Leinster captaincy to Leo Cullen last year and it had been suggested the same may have happened with Ireland to enable the 30-year-old to concentrate better on his own game.
The Leinster centre is set to captain Ireland for a 52nd time when they take on France at Croke Park on February 7th. He last captained his country in November when they defeated Argentina 17-3. Shortly afterwards he was sidelined with more hamstring problems.
“I am delighted that Brian has yet again agreed to lead the side in this year’s championship," said Kidney at today's announcement. "He has the leadership qualities which are vital at this level and, along with those of the other team leaders in the squad, will be important for the tournament ahead.”
Kidney and his team also outlined plans of their summer tour in May plus a further Test match is planned for November. The venue for this match is likely to be outside Ireland.
The developmental summer tour will see Ireland take on Canada and the USA at the end of May when they hope to introduce new faces to the international scene.
As the tour is scheduled at the same time as the latter stages of the Heineken Cup, the touring squad will contain players who are not involved in Leinster and Munster’s bids for European glory. Senior players will also be gearing up for the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa at this time.
The Ireland coaching staff also said they will be covering the Ireland A team in the Churchill Cup tournament to take place during June. Between the summer tour and the Churchill Cup over 60 players should feature as part of Kidney's grand plans to create greater strength and depth for the international side.
“This plan for the year allows us to spread the net across a greater number of players and to get to know them in the best way possible, on the training field and in international level games,” added Kidney.
“With a total of 14 games that the national management will be involved in this year, it serves two purposes. One, it will give us the chance to work with players in a pressure situation who may be just below the more established members of the squad at this point in time and two, it gives them the exposure which is important for their development at the highest level.”
