Kidney under scrutiny as World Cup year begins

Declan Kidney finds himself in a position he is unaccustomed to as he prepares for his third RBS 6 Nations campaign.

Success has followed Kidney at every turn, having won all available silverware during his two spells at Munster topped by a pair of Heineken Cup crowns.

As a youth team coach he guided Ireland Under-19s to victory in the 1998 World Cup.

But his greatest achievement arrived in 2009 when, in his first year as Ireland coach, he masterminded only the country’s second Grand Slam.

An encouraging autumn followed and he was recognised for his success by being named International Rugby Board coach of the year.

Since then, however, his fortunes have dipped and the 51-year-old’s methods have been questioned for the first time in his career.

Following up such a hugely successful debut Six Nations was always going to be an impossible task, so to finish as runners-up was satisfactory.

The traditional loss in Paris was little surprise, so the low point of the championship came in the home defeat by Scotland on the final day, a result that began 2010’s slump.

Ireland lost the next five matches, three of them Tests, until a 20-10 victory over Samoa brought respite.

It was hardly the resounding triumph they had hoped for, however, and they still found themselves deflecting snowballing criticism.

Arguably their best performance of the year followed in the 20-point defeat by New Zealand, while the following week’s record win against Argentina felt surprisingly hollow.

Apart from the All Blacks game, Ireland have played poorly.

Finding out why has been the challenge facing Kidney, who looked uncomfortable at times during the autumn as he addressed questions over Ireland’s slump in form.

“One of our goals in November was obviously to win every match and we didn’t,” said Kidney. “We came up short in two and we’ve taken a serious look at that.

“Another goal was to build a squad. We have been doing that and the autumn was a good step towards it.

“You can build all you like at training but fellas need to prove to themselves that they can win a tough game.”

Squad building was Kidney’s mantra throughout the autumn, but it was something of a red herring as his selections were conservative.

Prop Tom Court, lock Devin Toner and hooker Sean Cronin emerged with credit from the autumn, but Toner should have had more game time.

Openside Sean O’Brien started one match only, otherwise it was the same faces that have served Ireland so well since Kidney took over.

There is a general perception that the team is in decline, though looking at the age of the squad there are many players with their best years ahead.

The front five has struggled in the absence of Paul O’Connell, but the front row has rarely been an area of Irish strength anyway.

Kidney has attempted to adopt a more attacking style that suits the skill-set of his players, but the gameplan has often looked confused with its execution lacking in conviction.

Adjusting to the coach’s vision clearly does not happen instantly and the poor conditions against South Africa and Samoa were hardly conducive to champagne rugby.

But that fails to explain the loss of confidence, the aimless kicking or misfiring set pieces that undermined their ambition.

Ireland still have a strong team, one good enough to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, but time is rapidly running out between now and the tournament in New Zealand.

Nine games remain for Kidney to address the issues, starting with the Six Nations.

Should he fail to provide answers and transform the fortunes of the team with the World Cup looming, the pressure will really begin to mount for the Ireland’s most successful rugby coach.