Tuesday, February 02, 2010
THE answer to the above question that has dominated Irish rugby for the past 10 weeks will be provided at 1.30 this afternoon when Declan Kidney announces his Ireland team to play Italy in the RBS Six Nations Championship at Croke Park on Saturday.
The country has been divided by the rivalry between the 93 times capped Ronan O’Gara and Jonathan Sexton, the man who claimed his two caps at the expense of the Munster pivot in the November internationals against Fiji and South Africa.
There is no doubt Sexton made his mark in both games, just as he had when playing a major part in Leinster’s magnificent Heineken Cup triumph last season. Not only that, O’Gara was going through something of a trough at the time with his place kicking – normally such a major part of his game – particularly off target.
Accordingly, most would have regarded Sexton as the man to fill the No 10 jersey come the new year. A hand injury has seriously restricted his activity in the meantime, but he again demonstrated his nerve and skill by dropping a long range drop goal at a crucial stage against London Irish a couple of weeks ago that ensured a home draw for Leinster in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
As it so happened, however, O’Gara was also regaining his touch in a series of highly impressive performances with Munster. His all-round game was sharp and he has also come to grips with whatever glitches that had crept into his place kicking.
Kidney has always argued that the team comes first and so the fact that he had two out-halves with proven track records and in top-class form was always going to be good news. But he also knew it left him with a major selection headache and that’s why his lunch time announcement today is awaited with the keenest of interest.
These are the kind of issues that divide households and make for the most animated argument in pub and café. There is also, of course, the Munster-Leinster thing. Parish loyalty, if you like, is very much at play here and adding spice to an already heady mixture.
No matter which player emerges as the winner, it is highly unlikely the loser on this occasion will be asked to sit out the remainder of the campaign. Given that Sexton is the man in possession, it might be reasonable to assume he will be retained against the Azzurri and that O’Gara would then get the nod for Paris a week later. But that would be to try and read into the mind of Declan Kidney and, as everyone knows, that is rarely a sensible thing to do!
The out-half berth isn’t the only one at stake today. The coach also has to decide between Cian Healy and Marcus Horan at loose head prop and whether to go with Jerry Flannery at hooker. Horan and Flannery have been relatively inactive for the greater part of the season to date and that should mean the retention of Healy is a relatively straight forward call, all the more so considering the promise the young Leinsterman has displayed over the last couple of seasons. Again, though, Kidney will be delighted to have such fine props at his disposal.
It looks as if Flannery has done enough in a couple of AIB League games with Shannon and in some arduous training sessions to prove his fitness. He will likely get the call at number two ahead of brothers John and Denis Fogarty and Rory Best, who has recovered so incredibly well and quickly from a neck injury.
Otherwise, the pack picks itself while Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll and Tomás O’Leary are sure of their places in the back division. There is a view that Kidney’s admiration for Paddy Wallace will earn the Ulsterman the inside centre position ahead of Gordon D’Arcy and while that is a close call, I believe D’Arcy’s outstanding form should earn him the spot. The good news is that Luke Fitzgerald is on his way back but hisreturn is still a month or more away and in the meantime the number 11 shirt will almostcertainly remain with Keith Earls. He is more at home at second centre but has demonstrated his versatility in impressive fashion on several big occasions. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have any serious rival for the job.
IRELAND (probable): R. Kearney; T. Bowe, B. O’Driscoll, capt, G. D’Arcy, K. Earls; J. Sexton, T. O’Leary; C. Healy, J. Flannery, J. Hayes, P. O’Connell, D. O’Callaghan, S. Ferris, D. Wallace, J. Heaslip.
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