Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I HAVE no doubt when Declan Kidney finalised his squad for the autumn internationals last Sunday he was aware the World Cup final in Eden Park, Auckland was exactly two years away to the weekend.
On October 23, 2011 a new champion will be inaugurated. The planning for Ireland to contest that decider has started in earnest.
Between now and then Kidney has the major task of carrying Ireland’s Grand Slam winning form into a testing autumn series of games on successive weekends against Australia, Fiji and world champions South Africa. He also has the luxury of running the rule over an extended squad of players with A internationals against Tonga and Argentina.
After a summer spent playing tests without the Lions contingent against America and Canada, coupled with a successful Churchill Cup campaign, the Irish management, who are just over a year in the job, now have an excellent fix on all the players likely to contest for a World Cup squad place in two years time.
It has been a very fruitful year’s work for the national management from that viewpoint.
This time last year Kidney inherited a squad lacking in belief and confidence after a traumatic season of failure at the World Cup and their worst Six Nations in a decade.
The one ray of hope was that many of the same players under the Cork man’s tutelage won a second Heineken Cup for Munster against Toulouse.
Right now with another Heineken Cup in the bag courtesy of Leinster, along with a Magners League title and a Churchill Cup to augment that Grand Slam, Irish rugby is on an all time high.
Yet Kidney will have major concerns that the core of his national side, the Munster forwards and half backs, are struggling. Perhaps the change of environment that goes with the national squad is just what the doctor ordered at present. If it is, it will be somewhat ironic as many in the Ireland setup at the end of the Eddie O’Sullivan era used to look forward to returning to the bosom of their provincial teammates in order to restore damaged confidence.
As always with a Kidney squad announcement of 39 players it is difficult to read too much into it. Getting inside Kidney’s head is not an easy task. That said, with a shadow hanging over the availability of Jerry Flannery and with Rory Best also out of the equation due to injury for the season then two former Munster colleagues, John Fogarty and Seán Cronin, now with Leinster and Connacht respectively, will vie for a first cap. One of the few surprises in the squad is that Bernard Jackman is deemed surplus to requirements and that the form of Ian Humphreys has not been rewarded, though he will feature in the A squad.
With seven props included, Kidney is keeping all his options open as he assesses the health and fitness of Marcus Horan and John Hayes over the coming weeks. We will have to wait until the match day squad is announced for that opening clash with Australia before seeing if current form or the historic exploits of last season becomes the barometer for selection.
Reflecting on Munster’s current form, it is, as Alex Ferguson might say, fast approaching squeaky bum time. The 30-0 drubbing against Leinster, along with the poor opening halves against Northampton and Benetton Treviso can be partially explained by a number of factors.
Even the patchy opening 40 minutes against Edinburgh last Friday night could be attributed in part to a referee who was clearly out of his depth, resulting in little or no continuity to the game. A very poor call by the television match official Ian Ramage also deprived David Wallace of a try and a bit of momentum that may have improved Munster’s cause.
The terrible second-half performance however was simply down to their own ineptitude.
I cannot recall Munster making so many unforced handling errors. It even spread to Mr Dependable himself Ian Dowling who over the years has built a reputation for always doing the right thing at the right time.
While Tomás O’Leary and Ronan O’Gara did not have a great night I would exonerate the half backs on the basis of the complete lack of any quick ball from a Munster pack that will be embarrassed when they review the DVD of the game. Time and again O’Leary was forced to go mining for the ball at the breakdown with the Edinburgh forwards all over him like a rash. He had no chance.
While the extraordinary spate of injuries to front row forwards is contributing to an unstable scrum platform, the lack of quality ball from the lineout is a serious concern. Against Treviso there was ample evidence of a very effective maul which enabled the backs to get some front foot ball but for some reason in Murrayfield it was missing. Against a team who thrive on a loose game, the maul would have been ideal to suck in an Edinburgh pack who love to stand off and make a nuisance of themselves.
Confidence or the lack of it now seems to be a major problem with the team. Yet there is sufficient quality, experience and class within the playing ranks to address the core issues.
I wouldn’t be writing anyone off just yet. There is a distinct lack of bite or hunger in the way the pack is playing at the moment. I am not overly surprised players like Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan are finding it difficult to reach their normal heights of consistency after a draining Lions tour.
It is time now for the other players up front like Denis Leamy, Alan Quinlan, Mick O’Driscoll, Donncha Ryan and others to lead the way and share the burden of responsibility. David Wallace is the only forward playing with any level of consistency. With just one game left against Ulster on Saturday night before Munster get a midterm break; it is imperative they rekindle the desire and hunger that characterises their performance on a good day.
Headlines describing the team as "Ailing and ageing" is sure to illicit a response, not to mention the fact that Ulster thumped Munster 37-11 on their last visit to Limerick in January.
With only one more game, away to the Ospreys in the first week in December, before the crucial season defining back-to-back games against Perpignan in the Heineken Cup, Munster need to rediscover their killer instinct quickly.
It’s time to go back to basics.
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