Kidney gets ‘manic’ job reward

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney saw his team rebound from five straight Test defeats and admitted that in his “manic” job you had to be “off your head” to cope with the highs and lows of Test rugby.

Ireland finally delivered the performance Kidney’s players have been promising since their chastening 60-0 defeat to the All Blacks in New Zealand this summer with a seven-try demolition of a fatigued Argentina. Not only did it fulfil the objective of securing a top-eight world ranking ahead of next Monday’s World Cup 2015 pool draw but also heralded the arrival of a new generation of Irish stars and strengthened Kidney’s hand as he reaches the end of his current contract following the 2013 Six Nations.

Showing all the evasiveness of a body swerve from Saturday’s debutant tryscorer Craig Gilroy, the head coach sidestepped questions about his own future, instead concentrating on the fickle nature of international rugby and the importance of positivity.