Kyle hoping Kidney’s Irish show spirit of ’48

JACK KYLE, the name synonymous with Ireland’s “golden generation” of the late 1940s and early 50s, believes the current generation can finally taste Grand Slam success on Saturday.

When Ireland was to the fore in world rugby, winning a Grand Slam (1948), Triple Crown (1949) and Championship (1951), the era subsequently became known as the “Jackie Kyle years” in reverence to the Belfast boy’s influence over those successes.

The poster-boy of that generation, a line-breaker and playmaker par excellence, Kyle, who played out half, was only 22 when inspiring Ireland to its solitary Grand Slam success. Though he turned a healthy 83 last month, he’ll be taking a day-trip to Cardiff on Saturday for what he hopes will be an Ireland victory — and, as he says, bring an end to all the dining out from that 1948 success!