Reddan refusing to use fatigue as excuse

It has been a marathon season for Eoin Reddan and his Irish teammates but the Leinster scrum-half is not for making excuses ahead of a daunting three-test series with the world champions.

Many in the Irish camp began pre-season training in June of last year and are fast approaching clocking up 12 months of continuous rugby.

“You look at the statistic that it is a 51-week season but it isn’t (really) because we get weeks off,” said Reddan of his heavy workload.

“Other countries don’t, we get rested for games; other people don’t — so I think it is a mind-set you don’t want to be falling into.”

Like many players in the Irish set-up, this is Reddan’s second visit to New Zealand this season.

He admits that the jet lag has been “worse than usual” and has been looking after a knock on his ankle that is “nothing major”, but the Limerick native has been happy with his current form. “I played a lot of rugby towards the end of the year because Bossy (Isaac Boss) was injured,” said Reddan on his Leinster role.

“In that regard you feel very match fit, you feel good and I’m feeling good now.”

Reddan has enjoyed an intense rivalry with Munster’s Conor Murray for the Irish number nine shirt in recent times. The former Wasps halfback lost his position during the World Cup despite a solid display in the epic win over the Wallabies with Murray usurping him for the Italy and Wales tests.

Murray then seemed to consolidate his place as first-choice scrum-half during the Six Nations but Reddan, on the back of his showings for the all-conquering Leinster, is now poised to regain his spot against the All Blacks.

Reddan insists the pair get on well personally, but it is far more important that the they communicate effectively no matter who is starting.

“It’s important that you get on,” said Reddan on his relationship with Murray in the Irish camp.

“You all talk about the way the team is going and especially the way the team plays.

“I got the ball 91 times in 70 minutes in the Heineken Cup final. The way the ‘nine’ plays, the whole thing changes. So it’s very important when you’re in and out of a team … that you’re on a similar wavelength and everything doesn’t just go off kilter I think I would have that with Conor.”

Despite Reddan’s solid showings for Leinster and his understanding with Jonathan Sexton, it seems that Declan Kidney has favoured a more robust scrumhalf at international level. Tomás O’Leary was Kidney’s preferred choice for two seasons with Murray coming into the reckoning last year.

“People have different styles too and it does depend on what the coach is looking for I suppose,” Reddan explained, and he will be looking to inject his high-tempo game on Saturday whether starting or not.

“You’re either pushing a game or pulling a game. There’s no in between. You’re either pushing the pace of it or you’re slowing it down a bit.

“But obviously if you’re coming off the bench the aim is usually to push it.”

This Irish team doesn’t need reminding of the task facing them over the coming weeks, but Reddan displayed a quiet confidence ahead of this weekend’s Eden Park showdown.

“We’re going for it this week,” he stated emphatically.

“They’ve (New Zealand) a week to prepare and we’ve maybe had a bit longer. So everything is falling into place; we’ll freshen up as the week goes on and be ready for it.”

A coveted win over New Zealand has been a monkey on Irish backs for generations; a losing sequence that stretches over 24 test matches across 107 years.

“I think it’s absolutely huge and I think it would be bigger than anything any of us would have achieved so far,” said Reddan on the prospect of turning over New Zealand for the first time.

“I can’t say that for the lads who won the Grand Slam but I can say from my personal achievements if we were to beat the All Blacks, it would be the biggest thing.”