How Kidney made a happy camp

IN THE end, even the French supporters stood and applauded. It was that kind of match, honour in defeat, glorious satisfaction in victory. The Irish performance and result against France on Saturday offers sufficient evidence to indicate Declan Kidney and his management team have addressed many of the issues that contributed to those disappointing displays back to and including the 2007 World Cup.

The reaction of the Irish players at the final whistle suggested that a massive burden had been lifted off their collective shoulders.

On the evidence of the other two Six Nations games last weekend, Wales apart, there isn’t much to cause many sleepless nights for Kidney. However Lions coach Ian McGeechan may take a different view, especially in light of the shortcomings displayed by England and Scotland.