Time is not on Kidney’s side

DRAWING comparisons at this early stage of the season is a bit unfair but anyone who tuned in to the Tri Nations contest between New Zealand and Australia on Saturday morning before Ireland’s clash at Murrayfield would have felt they were watching a different sport.

In terms of pace, intensity and skill level, the southern hemisphere match was streets ahead of what we witnessed against Scotland. And there in lays the challenge for the northern hemisphere sides with five weeks to the World Cup. Already we are playing catch-up with limited game time for players to rediscover their form.

It seems unfair to ask players to open their season with an international contest, especially the likes of Rob Kearney, Tomás O’Leary and Jerry Flannery, who have so little rugby played in recent times. The fact that Flannery completed his 20-minute cameo without any difficulty was welcome news, as was the positive contributions of Kearney, who looked comfortable and assured at full-back, while O’Leary made his usual quota of vital cover tackles.