A three test tour of New Zealand on the back of what will be a twelve month season by the third test is hardly what the Irish squad needed especially when you consider the difficult six nations they had, where Kidneys squad selection and style of play came underfire but of course if it could be a chance for some of the younger squad members to impress. It is not just on the field where the Irish set up are facing some difficulties, with many of Ireland's younger prospects sitting on the bench or even in the stand as they struggle to get first team rugby, the lack of innovation or even just common sense by the IRFU mean it looks increasingly difficult to see how we are going to cope without the likes O Gara, O Driscoll and O Connell in the near future.
Kidney is under a lot of pressure with his recent squad selections. His loyalty to Donnacha O Callaghan and Gordan Darcy looks bizarre when think Devin Toner, Craig Gilroy and Ian Madigan were all left at home maybe Ferris and O Connell's injuries played apart but it didn't have to stop him from selecting a larger squad. Ireland's management just needed to look across the pond and see Stuart Lancaster is bringing a 42 man squad to South Africa, a mix of youth and experience. Kidney has only picked twenty nine players eight of which are front row forwards. That means to fill seventeen of his match day squad he has the choose from twenty one players. That is slim pickings to say the least and you would imagine many of the players will be carrying slight injuries going on tour it looks like another another massive chance to breadth some fresh air into the squad missed.
In many ways Kidneys hands are tied by the IRFU policies and the way in which players are distributed across the provinces. Kidney most look at Warren Gatland with envy as he seems to have an never ending supply of young, talented and powerful players that are seamlessly adopting to international rugby, continually defying the cliché that you won't win anything with kids. While Warren Gatland and his management team deserve a lot of credit the WRU are playing a blinder and the Welsh clubs seem to be also helping their national squad. Look at the recently crowned Rabro Pro Direct twelve champions the Ospreys. Last season they let the likes of Mike Phillips, Marty Holah, James Hook and Lee Bryne left and you would think the clubs future is bleak instead those headline players have being replaced by Rhys Webb, Justin Tipuric, Dan Diggar and Ashley Beck all of whom will step up to the international arena into the next twelve months. If you look the Irish provinces where similar younger players like Paul Marshall, Dom Ryan, Ian Madigan and Eoin O Malley are similar ages to their Welsh counterparts but when Ulster and Leinster have their full squad to choose from these players are all on the bench or not even in the match day twenty three. I have no doubt if all these players signed for Connacht next season they would have twenty games ( six in the Heineken Cup) under their belt by February and would be pushing for inclusion in the Irish six nations squad. Only one of Leinster's starting fifteen in the Heineken Cup final and two of Ulster's have earned their first international caps in the past two years indicating their isn't a whole raft of new players for Kidney to choose from despite Ireland's dominance of the Heineken Cup.
On topic of players going to Connacht it is good to look at the WRU's use Newport Gwent Dragons who are considered the fourth team in Wales. Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau were stars at the World Cup but it is one of their summer signings that intrigued me, Tom Prydie. I first came across Prydie alongside Andrew Conway of Leinster who were listed as stars of the future in a rugby magazine. Prydie has made twelve senior appearances for the Ospreys and Conway has made sixteen for Leinster and at the moment both are at a similar standard but by the end of next season it will be no surprise if Prydies development is rapidly accelerated by first team exposure at the Dragons. Conway on the other hand will no doubt make a halve dozen appearances next season while players are on international duty. It is not like sending players to Connacht for a season or two is a major risk as Jerry Flannery, Sean Cronin, Ian Keatley and Fionn Carr all benefited from their spells out west.
Next year three Kiwis will be managing Ulster, Leinster and Munster. I wonder would Mark Anscombe take a risk like Brian Mclaughlin did in selecting Paddy Jackson for a Heineken Cup semi final, I doubt it very much. Anscombe will be under pressure from the very start of the season and is he really going to invest in youth when he is looking to carry on from where Ulster left of last year, unlikely. Another problem is down in Munster where Wian Du Preez and Bj Botha are two very important players to the teams short term success but as they have no international commitments they expect to be starting every game. When will Rob Penny find the games to develop the likes of David Kilcoyne and Stephen Archer? As Keith Wood often mentions on Off the Balls Wednesday night rugby props need to playing week in week out to develop.
Of course Connacht isn't the only option for players to find first team rugby as Tomas O Leary signs for London Irish and also look how Tommy Bowe during his stint at the Ospreys. Indeed Bowes return to Ulster was seen by all as a major boast but when you realise one Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble and Darren Cave won't be starting regularly next season you wonder how much it benefits Declan Kidneys national team. It will be interesting to see if Bernard Jackmans Grenoble take on board some of Ireland's younger players for a couple of season's. Indeed it would be prudent for the IRFU to create a partnership with a ProDivison 2 team in France. It is regarded as the home of scrummaging and offers younger Irish players to learn new training methods and exposes them to first team rugby a season earlier which would benefit the provinces over time. In Austrailia, who have a similar playing pool to Ireland all International standard players are spread across their five Super 15 teams ensuring they are starting every game in their optimum position giving Robbie Deans options in every position of his team. Currently there are at least fifteen International quality players on the subs at Irish provinces, until that changes it is hard to see the fortunes of the national team changing.
Ireland's tour to New Zealand could have been the turning point for Declan Kidney's side but instead a whitewash beckons and the long, drawn out end to some of Ireland's stalwarts stellar careers will continue, painfully. The blame will probably be put squarely on the Kidneys shoulders but the IRFU need to take long look at their own management of Irish rugby and realise not only is change required on the field but also the way it which they run rugby in the country.
Thanks for your time, you can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AllThingsRugby1 or https://twitter.com/#!/Tommykennedy93
No comments:
Post a Comment