Kidney forward thinking on backs
Kidney went against type with his surprise decision to ignore the claims of 127-capped Ronan O’Gara and select 21-year-old Jackson to start at fly-half in place of the injured Jonny Sexton.
Describing Jackson’s selection over O’Gara as “a very tight call”, Kidney catapulted the uncapped Ulsterman in ahead of the 35-year-old on the basis of his better form and a strong showing in training since the defeat to England two Sundays ago. That game saw O’Gara thrown on after half an hour as Sexton hobbled off with a hamstring tear to level the scores at 6-6 with two penalties in wet conditions that suited his more pragmatic style. Yet England played the weather better with Owen Farrell booting the visitors back in front at 12-6 and when the Munster out-half missed his third penalty of the afternoon with 11 minutes remaining, Ireland missed a chance to set up a late rally.
A further mediocre display off the tee last Saturday, this time for Munster at Scarlets paved the way for Jackson’s promotion and despite O’Gara’s vast experience and a central role during Tuesday’s training session at Carton House, the younger, untried fly-half got the nod yesterday from Kidney, who will pair him with Conor Murray inside and Ulster team-mate and fellow debutant Marshall outside him in a rookie 10-12 partnership.
Those are two of five enforced changes from the side which started the England game, with Marshall in deputising for Gordon D’Arcy, Keith Earls in for Simon Zebo on the left wing, Donncha O’Callaghan replacing Mike McCarthy and Tom Court in place of the suspended Cian Healy.
Court’s inclusion also represented a surprise given that David Kilcoyne has been so impressive at loosehead off the bench for Healy in each of the last four Tests stretching back to November while the Ulster prop had been exiled from the squad since last March.
“I suppose that’s the great thing about sport,” Kidney said when asked if his selection of Jackson represented a gamble. “People will always have their own opinions about things. There were always going to be five changes for one reason or another so that doesn’t really stack up there.
“You have to put 15 on the pitch. Then it’s a case of seeing who’s going best and that’s the combination that has shown itself in training and in matches recently. That’s the job.
“Most teams are pretty good in that they pick themselves. Sometimes to make a few changes is when the coach has to step in and make a few calls/decisions that are deemed to be close.”
Of Marshall and Jackson’s form, the head coach added: “They have trained well but they’ve played well too in the games they’ve had. Luke was in with us right through November. He got a chip in his hand and was out for a while. He wasn’t available at the start of the Six Nations but he came back and played really well over the last week and a half with Ulster.
“He had a game and a bit last week and we thought he’d done enough on top of what he’d done in November and his game in December too, to warrant his place.
“Then Paddy too has been in with us over a period of time. He played well against Fiji [for an Ireland XV in November] and [for the Woflhounds against England] Saxons. For that reason then… there are tight calls to be made and they’re not easy calls. That’s the job of the coach.”
Kidney confirmed that Jackson will be given the place-kicking duties at Murrayfield despite him not having kicked for Ulster last weekend, when Ruan Pienaar took charge, having returned from an ankle injury. His last competitive kick from the tee had been for the Wolfhounds in Galway at the end of January, but Kidney explained why he believed Jackson was ready for the task.
“He’s dealt with adversity. It’s the first thing an out-half probably has to do. I’ve seen Jonny have to do it and ROG have to do it. Humps [David Humphreys] had to do it.
“It’s the first thing you have to learn. Out-halves get all the blame or all the glory, and you never deserve either. You’re doing your job, that’s how I see the role of the out-half.
“That’s something that was given to me a long time ago and something that I’ve lived on ever since in terms of that position more than any other.
“If Paddy just goes out and does his job it will be up to the other 14 to do their job around them more than anything else, that would be my wish for him, just go out and back himself. I talk a lot about them being themselves when they’re out on the pitch and that’s what I mean by it, that he just goes out and does what he does and enjoys himself.”
Jackson said O’Gara had been the first player to shake his hand when the team was announced and when Kidney was asked how the player he has coached since his schooldays had reacted to the bad news, he replied: “Like the man he is. He trained this morning as if it were his first training session.”
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