Few surprises as Kidney gives Healy his Ireland call
Paddy Wallace’s impressive form for a resurgent Ulster was certain to earn him the number 12 jersey ahead of Gordon D’Arcy while 22-year-old Cian Healy was first name on the list to replace Marcus Horan at loose head prop.
Once Jerry Flannery was declared fit after a nagging calf injury, he was certain to be pencilled in as hooker and likewise, John Hayes will again start at tight head prop though he hasn’t played for six weeks because of suspension.
With the exception of Wallace and Healy, the team is the same as that which started in the Grand Slam decider in Cardiff in March. Kidney was never going to stray too far from the side that did him so proudly throughout last season’s historic campaign, at least for this game. And he cannot be blamed for that approach.
However, there are concerns entering Sunday’s clash, most notably the shortage of game time for both Flannery and Hayes, while the team is coming in cold against an Australian side on the back of a Tri-Nations championship and who enjoyed a morale-boosting victory over England last week.
Eoin Reddan is named as replacement scrum-half and Sean Cronin is preferred as stand-in hooker to John Fogarty while Kidney admitted his decision to choose Keith Earls on the bench ahead of D’Arcy was “a big call”.
Kidney said: “You don’t like leaving out a guy like Gordon, it’s a big call not to have a player of his ability in the 22. Last year, one of our goals was to develop a squad… we were fortunate in the way matches went that we have been able to do that. It will lead to more debate around selection but I don’t think you would want to have it any other way.
“Paddy played well in the Six Nations last season and was unlucky to lose out in the latter stages to Gordon.
“We just think he is the best fit for this game. They are different type players and we feel Paddy is a good mix for this game. I’d only be sending you down a cul de sac if I was to give one reason over another.”
Though the Wallabies finished bottom of the table in the Tri-Nations, Kidney has been impressed by their recent form.
He claimed they were “knocking on the door throughout and were a little more patient when it came to picking off their scores against England”. “They managed to finish the game well, something they felt they hadn’t been doing up to then. Any time you go to Twickenham and come away with a win is bound to give you a bucketful of confidence.”
As for the relatively uncertain situation concerning the front row which will be manned by the team’s one new cap in Cian Healy, along with Flannery and Hayes, Kidney is typically philosophical.
“Like everything else in life, you can either moan about it or get on with it,” he stressed before adding with a smile: “One of the great ironies of sporting life is that John took a sabbatical for a few weeks and now he’s in to mind Cian.”
It will be recalled that it was for stamping on Cian Healy during the Leinster-Munster Magners League match last month that Hayes was handed a five week suspension.!
Kidney went on: “There are ironies all over the place but you just get on with it. I was reading recently that if you spend the present lamenting the past, the future will pass you by.
“If in this job, you wait for the ideal, it will never happen. John is fresh out and is looking forward to the game on Sunday. You could think of worst scenarios and better scenarios but it is what it is.”
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