Have no doubts the futures bright.

Tossing and turning last night in bed I was thinking over Declan Kidneys selection. I then began to wonder what will the future be after likes Brian O Driscoll, Gordan Darcy, Ronan O Gara and Tommy Bowe move on. The thought worried me, they are the end of the "golden generation." Would we slip back into the doldrums of the nineties where winning in Murrayfield would be considered a good achievement? The answer is no. The deeper I looked at the age profile of some of the squads and the experience some young players have already garnered  in Europe's elite competitions it is clear there is another golden generation on the way. This week I will look at the future of Ireland's back line.

Possible provincial back lines in four years.

Connacht              Leinster                 Munster                Ulster

K. Marmion           J. Cooney             C.Murray             P. Marshall

I. Madigan             J. Sexton               I. Keatley             P. Jackson

T. O Halloran         L.Fitzgerald          S.Zebo                 C. Gilroy

D. McSharry          F. McFadden        J. Hanrahan          L. Marshall

E. Griffin               E.O Malley           K. Earls                D. Cave

R. Henshaw           D.Kearney            L. O Dea              T. Bowe                

S. Layden              R.Kearney            F.Jones                 J. Payne

I know the possibility of all four provinces ever playing these four back lines on the same weekend is very remote for many reasons like injury, loss of form and new unheard of geniuses popping up between now and 2016. I transferred Ian Madigan to Connacht mainly because he is so good he can't be a sub for Leinster for ever and there isn't an outstanding prospect for the ten shirt at Connacht at the moment. In my selection I played a couple of players out of position trying to fit all the best prospects into the sides. The twenty eight players will be all Irish qualified by 2016 and will be available for international selection. There really will be fearsome competition in the next few years. 

Possible Irish back line in four years.   

K. Marmion

J. Sexton

C. Gilroy

J. Hanrahan

K. Earls

D. Kearney

R. Kearney

The range of players being produced is rather exciting too. Breaking scrumhalfs like Marshall and the bigger Mike Phillips type like Connor Murray. We have the controlling flyhalfs like Sexton and Jackson and then the more attacking running type flyhalfs like Keatley and Madigan. We have classic finishers like Gilroy and O Dea and the more modern type wingers like Zebo and David Kearney. In the centres we have the solid types like Marshall and McFadden while also having the creative types like JJ Hanrahan and McSharry. At outside centre again we have a mix of different styles of centre and at fullback we have the aerially dominant players like Rob Kearney and the counter attacking types like Layden. We really have the talent play many different types of game plans and adjusting quickly to the changes of modern rugby.

The key point when realising how bright the Irish teams future is you must also realise that all four provinces are producing  international standard players and not just two. With the right support from the IRFU we can have four provinces competitive in Europe with home grown players that can bring the National team to the next level.