Unfair to make Kidney scapegoat for Aviva shortcomings

The final whistle had hardly sounded at the Aviva when the usual suspects were at it.

I was quickly assured it was all Declan Kidney’s fault. He picked the wrong team, got his tactics askew, made a total bags of the bench and for the third successive meeting of Wales and Ireland, had been out-thought by Warren Gatland. But that rationale hardly does not tally with the fact that few would have chosen a different side. His players missed tackles, goal kicks, catches, etc. Not Declan Kidney.

The more realistic wonder why he doesn’t opt for an all-Munster half-back pairing of Ronan O’Gara and Conor Murray or the Leinster duo Jonathan Sexton and Eoin Reddan. The back-row also came in for special mention. At number eight Jamie Heaslip, a man who hasn’t lived up to his star billing of the 2009 Grand Slam series and the Lions tour of that summer, is only making his presence felt in start-stop mode. Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris are terrific rugby players but both are happiest on the blindside.