O’Callaghan, O’Leary the right calls by Kidney
The 2011 Six Nations championship signals the start of the northern hemisphere’s build up to the World Cup. This competition allows managers to confirm their probabilities, to assess possibilities and even to blood a few wild cards.
Declan Kidney’s starting side for Ireland’s tournament kick-off against Italy has raised a few eyebrows. There were surely tight calls in certain positions. Injuries in other team units have forced Kidney into a positional restructuring. The starting XV hasn’t been greeted with unanimous approval. Kidney’s selection has sparked an angry barrage of text messages into various radio sport shows. Most of the noise is emanating from the RDS and its surrounds. Why O’Leary ahead of Reddan? Jennings should surely be picked instead of Leamy? Incredibly O’Callaghan starts and not the unlucky Leinster talisman, Leo Cullen? And is there anyone else around rather than Keith Earls who could fill the void on the wing? There is a feeling that Munster’s failure to reach the quarter-final of the European Cup should be more appropriately reflected.
If the province doesn’t perform, then the players should pay the price. It’s a reasonable opinion. After all, if this had been the criteria for selection in previous years, the team would have been dominated by Munster players.
Selection for your national side shouldn’t depend on the form of your province. A player shouldn’t even be fully judged on his individual performances within his province. Tomás O’Leary being chosen ahead of Eoin Reddan is arguably the most contentious call by Kidney. O’Leary has been in and out of the Munster team over the last few months, primarily due to injury. These disruptions have hampered his efforts to string together a consistent run of decent performances. Peter Stringer was even picked ahead of him for Munster’s crucial pool decider in Toulon.
By contrast, Reddan has been central to Leinster’s brilliant run in the European Cup. He torments defenders by breaking close to the ruck and has an ability to pick the perfect pass to put runners into the gap. His pace from the back of the scrum is electrifying. However his defence hasn’t been tested. And he has been playing behind a pack that has had a solid platform. The scrum has been steady and there has been flowing, go-forward ball produced from the ruck.
O’Leary has been fed first phase possession from a scrum under pressure and a lineout that has been misfiring. Go-forward ball has been a problem in Munster lately and O’Leary has dealt admirably with a lot of untidy possession. His defence is rock solid. Ireland won’t dominate up front against the elite sides at the World Cup, in the manner that Leinster have done so at club level. Against the very best, an Irish scrum-half has to be physical.
In the back three, Kidney has selected a controversial mix. Fergus McFadden is a professed centre who’s accommodating Leinster by playing fantastic rugby on the wing. This is his chance to present his case for a trip to New Zealand. Keith Earls is currently featuring in the centre for Munster, has played full-back for the Lions and starts on the wing for Ireland. He is just returning from a desperate streak of injuries. He is a valuable asset and has to be given game time. Luke Fitzgerald is a utility player who has played most of his international rugby on the wing but wears 15 today.
The general concern about the back three is that the balance could be off. However Declan Kidney has always believed in putting his best 15 players on the pitch. The number on the jerseys of his five outside backs shouldn’t matter.
THE BACK row was another injury headache for Kidney. Ferris and Heaslip, on current form, are virtually certain of participating in the World Cup, but both are unavailable for the Six Nations opener. David Wallace is defying the age and pain barriers by producing incredible performances and deserves a fitting end to a superb international career. He is a certainty for the trip to New Zealand. O’Brien is the man of the moment and his merits are being widely vaunted. He has his chance to prove his international pedigree. Leamy is a seasoned international. If he can reproduce the form he has shown previously in Munster’s successful European campaigns, the Cashel native can be a huge asset at six.
In the engine room, O’Callaghan had to start. He has been much maligned of late but sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. His effectiveness in the pack is under-rated. The work he does is not always apparent. O’Callaghan is an enforcer. He hits more rucks than any other forward and he is regularly the key link man at the breakdown. Defensively he is solid and can be relied upon in every tackle. His equivalent in Leinster is Nathan Hines not Leo Cullen. Cullen’s style doesn’t fulfil the unglamorous role required from Paul O’Connell’s second-row partner.
Injuries have forced Declan Kidney to select an unpredictable but exciting side for Rome. Players on the fringe have been granted the opportunity to make their claim for a World Cup squad. They are in possession. Let’s see what they make of it.
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