International rugby doesn’t see too many impulsive manager
changes, so when Ireland finally let Declan Kidney go, for many fans it felt
that it had been too long coming. Kidney’s reign started in the finest fashion,
with a famous Grand Slam and an IRB coach of the year, but a lack of sustained
consistency in the following years robbed them of chances for any more
silverware and last year bought a worst ever performance with a near wooden
spoon finish.
Such a thing had looked impossible after their excellent
play when beating wales on the opening
weekend, but their sodden, mistake filled defeat to England where persistent
rain and poor handling saw them get outmuscled by Lancaster’s men, was the
beginning of a terminal championship decline.
Central to this was the injury to Johnny Sexton and
confusion over whom should be promoted to fill the integral flyhalf’s place; A
combination of the green Ulster flyhalf Paddy Jackson and Munster’s Ronan
O’Gara did not work and saw backline dysfunction over the next three weeks,
although the numerous injuries Ireland came into during that time compounded
those problems.
Simon Zebo, Gordon D'Arcy, Chris Henry, Craig Gilroy, Jonathan
Sexton, Fergus McFadden, Eoin Reddan, and Donnacha Ryan were all injured before
they lost three men to the sin bin and injury in a disastrous final game
against Italy, in hindifght, leaving them with little or no options at one
time.
Sexton has had some form worries since a move to Racing
Metro, which has not worked out as planned for him, but his last game did see
him scoring a try and leading Racing to a 25-5 win over Toulouse, while Paddy
Jackson is a completely transformed figure from the shaky outhalf that fluffed
his lines on the kicking front so regularly, having taken a central part in
leading Ulster to six pool wins in the Heineken Cup, notably stepping up to the
plate in victories at Leicester and Montpellier.
Schmidt’s plan to pick a matchday 23 based mainly on
opposition is likely to see changes, although the amount of understanding that
should be maintained between him and the several Leinster players in that
division, including the evergreen Brian O’Driscoll amongst others, should see
reasonable fluidity behind the scrum.
Ian Madigan hasn’t made the first matchday 23 against
Scotland, but is likely to be called up on an opposition basis, and with him
and Jackson at the helm should something untoward happen to Sexton, Ireland at
least have plenty of cover in a playmaking role. Luke Marshall’s fitness, along
with the expected return of Luke Fitzgerald, should see plenty of pace and
spark to complement one of the hardest packs in the Northern Hemisphere.
The fixture list, with trips to England and France (on the
final day), is a challenging one, but Ireland’s draw in Paris 2 years ago
should give confidence and neither presents an impossible task for a side that
may have been overlooked in the title race.
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