Kidney takes a bold step

In appointing Jamie Heaslip as Ireland captain for the 2013 RBS 6 Nations yesterday, Declan Kidney made one of the bravest decisions of his tenure as national team head coach.

There were plenty of straightforward ones made yesterday as he confirmed the return of Leinster’s Greg Feek and Munster’s Anthony Foley to his coaching staff, on secondment from their provinces as scrum coach and acting defence coach respectively. Welcome, too, the return to the fold from injury of Rob Kearney, Sean O’Brien and Rory Best to join a youthful extended squad, including six uncapped players, still buoyant from a November victory over Argentina that prevented a slip into the third tier of world rugby.

Back, too, came Brian O’Driscoll, his Grand Slam-winning skipper of 2009, returning to the squad after another extended spell on the sidelines due to injury, and Kidney could have taken the easy route of simply restoring the captaincy to the Ireland’s greatest player.