SIMON LEWIS: Kidney needs answers quickly

It will be business as usual for Ireland head coach Declan Kidney as he picks over the wreckage of a disappointing and unprecedented RBS 6 Nations campaign and begins planning for a summer tour to North America.

Throughout this championship, Kidney has been forced to consider his own future in the role he has occupied since 2008 even though he has rebuffed persistent questioning regarding his desire to seek a new contract when the current deal expires on Ireland’s return from the USA and Canada.

He has done so with a dignity and a grace that many men might not have been able to sustain through a trying period which has seen injuries reach intolerable levels and disappointing performances from players who should be executing their craft to a higher standard.