From colleagues to friends: The making of Grand Slam champions

PLAYING international rugby for Ireland in the late 1980s and early 1990s was tough. Having to compete with the might of Jack Charlton’s Irish soccer team for the hearts and minds of the nation in the wake of the European Championship of 1988 and Italia ‘90 was extremely difficult.

All you could do was admire their relative success from afar and dream that one day the thronged streets and pubs, the colour and the bunting hanging from the lampposts and a similar sense of national pride would attach to an Irish rugby side. Finally, that day has arrived. With last Saturday’s victory, this Irish team has become the talk of the nation.

There is no doubting that the growth in popularity for rugby and the audience it now attracts can be traced to Munster’s successes in Europe and the massive support that the team attracts. It is also true to say that there are plenty of passionate rugby supporters outside of Munster, those who follow Leinster, Ulster and Connacht with a fervour, who admire Munster’s achievement but cannot share the same sense of ownership. That too is perfectly understandable. That is why Ireland’s success this season is, as Declan Kidney pointed out, “for everybody”. Kidney has cleverly made this team inclusive. It is no coincidence that the Grand Slam is the only topic of conversation everywhere you go this week.

Of even more importance is the manner in which Kidney transformed the squad into one united entity, no egos, no cliques, no barriers. The player with a few caps to his name is every bit as important as the one with 50. In the post-match interviews on Saturday, Rob Kearney summarised it when he claimed: “There is so much to be said for a close, tight unit. When the chips are down that’s when you need to be playing with your friends. Over the last six months since Declan has come in, I can certainly say that everyone I play with now is a friend rather than a colleague.”

For me they were the most salient words I heard from within the camp over the weekend. It is something I can readily identify with. The Irish squad of the mid 1980s, when Ireland last won the championship, had that. Players enjoyed each others’ company and looked forward with relish to the games and even the dreaded squad sessions because we were very comfortable with each other, a sentiment that endures to this very day. As a result, when the real pressure comes on, as it has in each of Ireland’s last three games, each won by a single score, that unity of purpose makes the difference.

MUCH has been made of the three days that the squad spent together in Enfield over Christmas — and with good reason. Three days with only 45 minutes spent togged out on a rugby field. Time for talking. Much was made in the press of Ronan O’Gara’s frustrated comments in the aftermath of Munster’s heroic stand against the All Blacks last November despite the absence of their front line players. He openly questioned whether there was a case that players, especially his own Munster team-mates, were not buying into the Irish jersey to the same degree. Coming as it did on the eve of the crucial game for World Cup ranking points against Argentina it attracted much comment but O’Gara felt he had a point to make.

During the soul searching in Enfield it emerged that there was a feeling from players outside Munster that it was a question worth addressing — something that needed to be put on the table. The boil had been lanced. Some Munster players were less than enamoured that their commitment was questioned but if honesty and integrity were to become the hallmarks of this team, the issue needed to be dealt with and put to bed. It was.

Other issues surrounding the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia were debated including the fact that Paul O’Connell gave the post match interview after the Wallaby test on the field to Australian TV after Brian O’Driscoll had departed injured before the end of the game. For some strange reason this caused a problem for a few of the players.

They were among a range of the topics discussed as Kidney sat back and let them at it. I have been involved in several teams when a clear-the-air meeting has been arranged and an honesty call is required. At the end of the Enfield love-in, a united team emerged and the squad were ready to move on as one.

It was clear for all to see that the body language of the players took a noticeable turn in the French game. The reaction to the tries from Jamie Heaslip, Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy, who made such a telling impact off the bench after his long injury woes, was significant. That victory over France in the opening game of the tournament was the catalyst the squad needed to drive on. After all, several of the players had been on the receiving end of seven successive defeats to Les Bleus.

It is just as well that this team revels in each other’s company as they will be meeting a lot over the course of the next 50 years, regardless of what happens from here on in; they’ll be invited to many a reunion as the famous team that erased 61 years of pain and frustration.

In the shorter term, many of the side are destined to spend the summer in the red jersey of the Lions as they attempt to lower the colours of the current world champions, South Africa. Whatever the outcome of that test series I think it will be another stepping stone on the development of the Irish players in the build up to the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

While the 2001 Lions were pipped at the post in the test series against Australia, I always felt that with so many English players on board, that experience proved valuable on the road towards their successful assault on the World Cup in 2003 in the same country. Saturday’s triumph has already whetted the appetite for that event in just over two years’ time.

So much to look forward to.