Steadman makes a case for the defence

FRANK HADDEN has lauded the impact former Ireland defence coach Graham Steadman has made on Scottish fortunes, saying the former rugby league star’s work will pay “rich dividends” in this year’s Six Nations.

Steadman first came to prominence as defence guru at Munster, before moving up to international level under Eddie O’Sullivan in 2005. He helped integrate systems that saw Ireland become one of the most difficult sides to break down in rugby, particularly during the 2006-07 season.

Steadman joined the SRU last August, and his job title also entails working with the Edinburgh and Glasgow professional districts that have shown marked improvement in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup this season.

Hadden, Steadman and former Leinster forwards coach, Mike Brewer, are plotting the downfall of Warren Gatland’s Wales at Murrayfield tomorrow and the Scots are fancied to do a job on the Grand Slam holders.

Ireland must travel to the Scottish capital on March 14, a potential banana skin for Declan Kidney’s men, who are aiming for a first championship since 1985.

“Graham has made a very positive impact on the players,” said Hadden. “He’s well-qualified, a very experienced coach and he’s got a lot to bring to the table over and above the defence, in terms of his analysis of the opposition and his selection abilities.

“All in all, I’m delighted with the progress the team are making under him.”

The Scotland head coach’s glowing endorsement strengthens the view that Steadman is making significant progress. He had to endure some horror moments against the All Blacks when Scotland conceded four tries in defeat, but his defensive alignments seemed to be settling down against the Springboks — a match Scotland should have won.

“Graham’s track record speaks for itself,” said Hadden. “The defensive system he’s put in place is a very effective one — it took a little while to bed down in the Autumn series, but now I think the players are more familiar with it, and it’s going to pay some real dividends in the Six Nations.”

Hadden admits Scottish rugby has made progress after a series of political upheavals as the country adjusted to professionalism, and stressed that they are all the time working from a very small player-base.

“Professionalism hasn’t been all that kind to countries like ourselves; we don’t have the resources of elsewhere. For example, there are more than three times the rugby players in Ireland than there are in Scotland, so we’re working off a much smaller base than everybody else.

“Although we’ve felt a few crises along the way, we’ve made progress. We were aware that we needed more depth. I think we’ve addressed that, and we’ve more competition for places than we’ve had before. The fact that this time last year I was sitting on 12-15 injuries and this year I’m only sitting on five or six, that’s a much more manageable number.”

Hadden also said he expects Ireland to be in contention for honours at the business end of the Six Nations.

“It’s so difficult to actually nail a Grand Slam considering the competition. The fact Ireland have won Triple Crowns is a testament to the progress they’ve made over the years.

“Had Paul Sackey actually grounded the ball just before half-time against Wales last year, Wales would not have won the Grand Slam. These are the fine margins between success and failure in such a short, sharp competition; everybody needs a rub of the green from time to time.

“I think Ireland were aware they had to start changing the older guard and looking for new talented young players to come through. But there’s still an experienced core throughout the side and I’d very surprised if Ireland weren’t there or thereabouts.”