Coach opts to go with the men in form

SPEAK softly but carry a big stick: that must surely be themantra of Irish rugby coach, Declan Kidney.

Many times during his time with Munster, the ever-smiling Kidney defied his public demeanour, showing he was well prepared to make the hard calls. In his first Six Nations at the helm of the national team it’s taken him until his fourth game but yesterday at the team hotel in Killiney Castle, he did it again.

Three wins from three outings, the same starting 15 in each of those wins, yet any hint of complacency is blown away in the few minutes it takes to read out the starting line-up against Scotland in Murrayfield on Saturday.

Peter Stringer and Gordon D’Arcy come in to replace Tomás O’Leary and Paddy Wallace at scrum-half and inside-centre respectively while Rory Best and Denis Leamy take the spots of Jerry Flannery and Jamie Heaslip at hooker and number eight.

Given that three of those four — O’Leary, Flannery and Heaslip — are touted as probable Lions, this was a brave call by the Cork man. Yet, in typical Kidney fashion it was made, and in typical Kidney fashion it was explained — a sweetener for those dropped, but no equivocation.

“In fairness to the four lads I’ve left off, I’d like to state that it’s definitely not that they have done anything wrong, but when four guys come in, four have to be left out.

“The problem isn’t just who to pick, it’s who to leave out.

“I feel it is important these four get a chance, they will bring their own chemistry to it.”

In explaining why he has waited until now before making any changes, Kidney was equally forthright.

“It wasn’t a case of not having guys up to it, but you have to have some flow to your game, that’s probably why we haven’t made any changes. The four we’re bringing in have been lucky enough to get some game time (all have made substitute appearances) and they showed there wasn’t a lot of upheaval — that’s something we couldn’t afford right now. I am sure it will be a cause for debate. But we sat down, discussed it, and decided the four lads deserved a shot.”

Fatigue, he said, wasn’t a factor. This was strictly about form.

“No, if you were to think like that you could take your eye off the ball on Saturday — Saturday is our cup final, we have to win, and that’s the way we’ve treated every game.”

Sitting alongside Declan Kidney during the team announcement was one player at least who — on current form — can feel secure in his tenure, Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll.

O’Driscoll loses his inside-centre partner Paddy Wallace, but gains a much respected and much feared old comrade. Before a horrific arm injury interrupted his career last season, Gordon D’Arcy was making waves as one of the best backs in world rugby. Now he makes his first start since then, and O’Driscoll is happy to be once again in harness with his Leinster clubmate.

“I’ve played a lot of times with D’Arce at provincial and international level and whenever a player comes in, you have to try to forge a partnership. We’ll try to pick up where we left off, but it’s been a while since I played with him in the centre. Training will be important this week; it was tough on Paddy because he was playing well; D’Arce brings a different element and hopefully we will see that on Saturday. He has had huge patience in coming back from his injuries — a lot of guys would have lost the head after hearing bad news after bad news but he got fit and really looked after himself. That’s now paying off and credit to him.”

Credit also to Peter Stringer, another old-stager who kept persevering in the face of adversity. Tomás O’Leary was one of those who benefited from Kidney’s willingness to wield the blade in Munster, chosen over Peter Stringer in the run-in to Munster’s Heineken Cup success last season, displaced also at national level.

Now, however, Stringer is back, a superb performance in adverse conditions in last Saturday evening’s away Magners League win over the Dragons probably tilting the balance.

“Strings is a slightly different player to Tomas,” says O’Driscoll, “He is one of the better passers in world rugby and hopefully that delivery will be as good as we’ve been used to for 90-odd tests. At the weekend he showed an extra element of physicality to his game. The important thing is the players are all always trying to better themselves. That is one area Strings has worked on, and it was there for all to see.” There for all to see now also, however, the message — no room for anyone to rest on their laurels in any squad of Declan Kidney’s. Don’t just change — improve.