Door should not be closed and Kidney lost to Ireland

Whoever the IRFU has brought in to lead the search for Declan Kidney’s successor as Ireland head coach is definitely going to earn every cent of their lucrative consultancy fee.

It is all very well for Irish rugby’s governing body to specify a world-class pedigree as its only criteria for the person who must take the national team into the 2015 World Cup, but, as Kidney will no doubt attest, there is much more to coaching Ireland than having a good curriculum vitae.

The potential list of available world-class candidates may be extensive, as the number of names in the betting markets suggest, but persuading the right one to throw his lot in with Ireland’s cause may not be as simple.