Old foe delighted O’Connell’s off hook
O’Connell escaped disciplinary action for allegedly kicking Leinster’s Dave Kearney in the head in a recent RaboDirect game, and earlier this week both Leinster coach Joe Schmidt and captain Leo Cullen were critical of the decision not to cite the Munster second row.
Cudmore, who was sent off in Thomond Park after brawling with O’Connell during a 2008 Heineken Cup game, tweeted about the incident on April 15: “How long for a kick in the head these days ?!”
Yesterday, however, Cudmore went into more detail about the incident for the Irish Examiner.
“I can’t speak for anyone else, the only thing I tweeted was the question — had there been a suspension,” said the Canadian. “From what I’m seeing there’s nothing coming of it, and that’s the end of it. You can’t continue on. That’s the one thing I know about rugby, once the game’s over, if there’s nothing after that, then it’s over. That’s one of the things I love about rugby.
“He’s a hell of a player for Ireland and for Munster. For the good of the game, it’d be too bad if he weren’t involved next week.”
His second row colleague with Clermont, Scottish international Nathan Hines, acknowledged the incident had been highlighted in the French media but said he and his colleagues were focused on their Top 14 clash with Toulouse tomorrow.
“It’s been in the newspapers here, and on rugby websites such as Midi-Olympique’s. There’s been some discussion of it, certainly.
“What can we do about it? That’s something that’s outside our control, and as such we have to move on to what we can control. Our focus at the moment is on Toulouse this weekend [in the Top 14]. That’s a huge game for us in our own league and one we can’t afford to look beyond.
“Whether someone is suspended or not for a later game isn’t something we can affect.”
Both men gave glowing references to former Clermont assistant coach Schmidt. The Leinster coach is widely regarded as a front-runner to replace Declan Kidney as Ireland head coach and Cudmore outlined Schmidt’s strengths as a coach.
“I wouldn’t be worried about Joe at that level at all, I think he’d do a hell of a job,” said Cudmore.
“In terms of his coaching, obviously I can only speak for myself and my experience of him when he was here with us in Clermont.
“One thing, definitely, is that he’s extremely precise in his work and because of that he gets his players to play to a very high standard. He always gets the very best out of the players in his squads.
“In addition, he’s a very nice guy and he gets his point across very clearly. At the same time he takes no shit. He’s no pushover.
“He’s a very intelligent man, and that’s probably the big thing with him — intelligence and his precision in communication. That’s very important when it comes to getting a big group of players to gel together and to work hard for each other.
“He’s always been the kind of coach who comes up with good ideas in terms of game plans according to the teams you’re up against, which is a huge strength. I have great time for Joe and I’d wish him all the best if he takes on the Ireland job, I think he’d do very well.”
Hines concurred with his team-mate: “Sure, he’s done good things with Leinster and here in Clermont before he went to Ireland. You talk to anybody in Clermont and they’re full of praise for him as a coach and as a person.
“If Joe were offered the job and decided to take it, I don’t think he’d let anybody down, certainly. I’m not familiar with the others who are in the frame but Joe’s certainly a top coach.”
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