Irish big guns fire opening shots
So it was that Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and Jonathan Sexton were all on hand in the sumptuous Morrison Room of Carton House for a spot of promotional duty — but there is nothing like success to get bums on seats and, in essence, all three said as much.
A month has passed since Declan Kidney assembled his troops for the first time since the 60-0 debacle in New Zealand and the impression is that a line was drawn in the sand that day at the Aviva Stadium in much the same way as at that famous pre-Slam team meeting in Enfield in 2008.
Whether the knock-on effect is equally dramatic remains to be seen.
O’Driscoll and Sexton, both of whom had to endure the embarrassment of that third Test in June, sang a particularly harmonious tune yesterday, with respect for the green jersey being the core of the message ahead of a new international season.
“Sometimes you just need to be honest with each other and a lot of things were said at that meeting,” said O’Driscoll.
“It’s not that you go through the motions but it is good to take stock sometimes and realise how lucky you are to be involved in what you are.
“Maybe we were guilty of taking for granted that we were representing our country and you should never do that.
“It is important we understand the pride that comes with wearing the jersey and the respect we have to show it every time we put it on.”
The horror show in New Zealand has raised the stakes for players and coaches alike. O’Driscoll admitted as much while Sexton hopes that Ireland can ape the England team of 2003 which suffered similar sufferings in the southern hemisphere before their crowning campaign.
The personnel involved in this Irish team has changed considerably since the Grand Slam season of 2009 and Kidney, whose selections have been criticised for being too conservative, has intimated that further alterations may be in store.
“Declan has made it very clear this year that he is going to pick on form and that guys who deserve their chance, who put their hands up at provincial level and at [Ireland] training sessions like the ones here, are going to be given their opportunity,” said O’Driscoll.
“You can’t ask for much more than that. I have been a big believer that you should never be picked on reputation.”
Kidney’s hand has been somewhat forced in that respect with Gordon D’Arcy, Ronan O’Gara, Eoin Reddan, Declan Fitzpatrick, Mike McCarthy and Simon Zebo all ringing in sick for this week’s two-day get-together after the weekend’s RaboDirect Pro12 fixtures. The flip side of course is that opportunity has knocked for James Downey, Ian Madigan, Paul Marshall, Ronan Loughney, Devin Toner and Craig Gilroy but it is difficult to foresee a wave of changes when the Springboks and Pumas arrive.
The meeting between an Ireland 15 and Fiji at Thomond Park offers greater scope for experimentation but, all told, it promises to be a punishing three-week schedule with South Africa and Argentina both renowned for a bruising approach.
“Yeah, they play a similar game, don’t they?” said Sexton who added that the team is desperate for success after three years of falling short.
“It will be interesting to see how we decide to play against that and how we attack them because in many ways they want you to attack them from your own half, so we have to look at when we do that and when we play clever and keep the pressure on them.”
Do that and they can start to reduce the pressure on themselves.
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