Kidney picks Best to lead charge
Best was yesterday confirmed as Ireland’s seventh captain in Six Nations history, succeeding Paul O’Connell, who had been standing in for the rehabilitating Brian O’Driscoll when he was struck with a championship-ending knee injury. Saturday’s game will be the third time Best has captained his country, having led Ireland on the 2009 tour into Tests against Canada and the USA.
The Ulsterman will bid to maintain his 100% captaincy record while breaking predecessor Keith Wood’s appearance milestone for Ireland hookers with his 58th Test appearance.
Declaring himself 100% fit following a rib-injury scan on Monday, Best’s ability to play means Kidney had only two enforced changes to make from the team which started last Sunday’s 17-17 draw with France.
Four players sat out yesterday’s core training session of the week at Carton House, with fly-half Jonny Sexton adding to the Irish medical staff’s workload after taking “a bang on the foot” in Kidney’s words, during Tuesday’s light training session. Also continuing to be monitored are Donncha O’Callaghan’s jarred ankle, Keith Earls’ tight groin and the skin infection on Sean O’Brien’s foot, although the Irish camp insisted all four were expected to start against Scotland.
Donnacha Ryan replaces O’Connell at lock alongside O’Callaghan while Eoin Reddan starts at scrum-half following Conor Murray’s bone-bruising knee injury in Paris. Their replacements on the bench will be Connacht’s Mike McCarthy and Munster’s Tomás O’Leary, while the claims of Tom Court, Peter O’Mahony and Ronan O’Gara for game time in week three of a four-week run were rejected by Kidney in favour of what he believes to be the strongest team he can field for each match.
“We had the experience of the World Cup whereby you have your four pool matches and you say ‘can we rotate things around?’,” Kidney said. “We looked at this and it’s not actually a pool stage, it’s four cup finals, and so it’s important to take each one with your best step forward and that’s what we’ve done.
“We did it two weeks ago against Italy, the last week against France and now that’s what we’re doing this week. You have to measure lots of things in. There’s lot’s of things that I would like to do but you have to rationalise that with how much training you can do, how much coordination and continuity you can bring to the side.
“The important thing is that lads are looking forward to the game on Saturday and you have to allow them to freshen up as much as possible while also feeling confident enough in what we’re trying to achieve and being as co-ordinated as possible in doing it.”
Despite losing two captains since last October’s World Cup, Kidney insisted there was no leadership vacuum and backed his players to prove him right against the Scots.
“It’s an opportunity now for other fellas to put their hands up,” he said. “It was refreshing this morning at training, there were a few lads starting to talk up more, they recognise the situation and they’ll bring their tuppence as well too.
“I remember when Woody [Keith Wood] used to lead the chase there for quite a while and then Brian [O’Driscoll] rode in behind him and then Paul [O’Connell] rode in behind Brian. That’s just the way that it happens.
“We’re very happy with the fellas that we have coming into it. They’ve been looking to have a go and it’s everyone’s chance now to show what they can do.”
O’Connell’s absence will be keenly felt at lineout time against a Scottish unit regarded as the best in the championship. The captain has now returned to Munster to rehabilitate the medial collateral ligament damage in his left knee in a bid to pass fit for the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Ulster on April 8, but before he left Carton House Kidney said he gave both temporary forwards coach Anthony Foley and new lineout leader Ryan a full briefing on what to expect from Scotland locks Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
