Kidney gives young stars Belfast opportunity

IRELAND head coach Declan Kidney has placed an emphasis on youth for this week’s training camp in Belfast, but insists that many of the older brigade have not been “discarded”.

With his British & Irish Lions contingent still enjoying breaks after their exertions in South Africa, Kidney has opted to call upon the services of many of the players who served him well in both the Churchill Cup and the summer tour of North America. While there is no shortage of experience within the 36-strong panel, with veterans such as Leo Cullen, Shane Horgan and Mick O’Driscoll all included, there is an undeniable focus on development.

Kidney insisted, though, that while he is hoping to introduce new players into the Ireland set-up when November rolls around, form – and not potential – will be the overriding factor in every selection.

“There was an erroneous report (when the training camp was announced) that many of the older guys had been discarded – but they weren’t,” he declared.

“The older lads knew full well that this camp was about planning for the future. If those lads who miss out are playing well in November, they’ll be in the squad. I just wanted to give the younger lads a go this time around, but let’s see who’s playing well in November. The form player, the best man for the position, will get picked.”

Kidney is aware, though, that there is a need for some experimentation, as he plans for the 2011 World Cup.

“We have to develop the squad. The World Cup is just two years away and obviously if you just roll up and try to deal with it on the day you’re going to get caught out. So we are making a plan,” he explained.

“The tour to America and the Churchill Cup were hugely informative for us, in terms of the strength in depth, and what we’re doing here this week is a continuation of that work. We want to have a few options available when it comes to November because history has shown that you need different options.

“We were lucky last year in that we didn’t have too many knocks but if we get a few this year we’re going to need to know all about the back-up, and we’re learning more and more about that all the time. What we’ve said to the senior players is: ‘we’ve a plan for the future but we’ll play in the now.’”

As a result, Kidney is hoping that the youngsters who have been included in the panel for this week’s camp will make a strong case for inclusion for next month’s get-together in Limerick.

“The Lions guys haven’t been included in this squad but they should be available for selection and because we plan to go again with a squad of 35 or 36, the lads here this week know this is their big chance. They know that they might not get another opportunity to show us what they can do so the pressure is on them to put their hand up,” he added.

Meanwhile England are favourites to be awarded the right to stage the 2015 Rugby World Cup later today.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) will announce the hosts of the 2015 and 2019 events in Dublin.

England are being heavily tipped to land the event after the competition’s organisers recommended their bid to the IRB council. South Africa, Japan and Italy are also in contention for 2015, with Japan being recommended as hosts for 2019. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) claims England would lay on the biggest World Cup to date, generating a surplus at least £60m bigger than that of the other bids.

It says three million people would watch the games live at stadiums that would include Wembley, Anfield, Old Trafford and Twickenham. The RFU also hopes to stage matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, even though Wales would not be co-hosts for the tournament. To be successful, England must win at least 14 votes from the 24-strong IRB council. The bid received a major boost last month when they were declared as the preferred bidder of Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL), the body inside the IRB which organises the tournament.

In the past, Rugby World Cup votes have been blighted by accusations of horse-trading, with claims that nations have swapped votes for the right to stage lucrative matches. England was a co-host of the tournament in 1991 and 1999, while South Africa won the event on home soil in 1995. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the 2015 Rugby World Cup would form part of a “golden decade” of sport in the UK, sandwiched between the 2012 Olympics and the football World Cup, which the FA is hopeful of bringing to English soil in 2018.