Favourite: Conor O'Shea
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Former Lions fly-half Tony Ward has backed Conor O'Shea to become Ireland coach should Declan Kidney not be offered a contract extension.
The Quins boss is one of the leading names in line as a possible replacement for Kidney, with Mike Ruddock his closest rival with the bookies.
Pressure seems to be mounting on the Ireland head coach following the back-to-back defeats to England and Scotland. Since the Grand Slam triumph of his first year at the helm, it has been a difficult tenure that has seen the Irish win only half of their eighteen matches in the tournament.
"I think it is the beginning of the end for Declan," Ward told The Guardian.
"I do not say that lightly because I have the highest regard for him, in an era when most coaches get up your nose with their superiority complexes, he is a shining example of integrity, honesty, humility and complete lack of ego.
"I just think that four years is the shelf life for an international coach. Declan has got a few things wrong this Six Nations, such as taking the captaincy off Brian O'Driscoll and picking Paddy Jackson at outside-half in Scotland, even if the decisions were made for the right reasons.
"I do not see the RFU sacking him after the Six Nations, nor should they, but I think he will decide to step down."
O'Shea was a guest on RTE for the recent game and showed sympathy for what Kidney was going through, sighting injuries and the suspension of Cian Healy as being a factor in their loss. It was a defeat that has been difficult for Irish fans to take due to the statistics.
"As a coach, I know what Declan is going through and can put context into it. The team in Scotland was missing a number of players and at full strength we would have won the game. As it was, we gave a sucker an even chance having had them on toast.
"Declan is the most decorated coach we have ever had in Ireland and you need to sit down with the players before making any decision," he said.
Meanwhile, Ward added his views on the loss on Sunday.
"The defeat on Sunday almost defied rugby," said Ward. "We were so dominant. I was disappointed with the leadership because Heaslip opted not to give Jackson an early kick at goal to settle his nerves but went for a line-out that did not work and then, from a more difficult angle and with Scotland a prop light, he opted for the posts.
"Conor would be my choice to take Ireland forward. He has the track record, he trusts the people around him and he is Irish at a time when all our provinces are coached by New Zealanders. Schmidt and Ruddock are men of substances and strong candidates, while there will always be a place in the game for Declan."
Comments
rugby_rockstar says...
Nick Mallet / John Mitchell???
Is it really worth the change????
It's moments like this where I hope that national coaches are paid millions and millions and millions of Euros. I really don't see why you'd hang a bullseye around your neck otherwise.
Posted 17:37 26th February 2013
paddy91317 says...
*kidney being one
Posted 17:14 26th February 2013
paddy91317 says...
3in4 has point stating that most of the leinster players are better than there munster counter parts its true... run a player by player in your head i can think of 2 players playin in munster that would make leinster d ryan and o connell when fit.... so sayin more leinster players should start isnt biased its just a hard truth alot of boggers need to face up to..
Posted 17:13 26th February 2013
melkdave says...
@3in4
Have to agree with you,this tribalism BS is holding back Ireland ,and irish rugby.Your national team should consist of your best inform players ,Where and who they play for should be totally irevelant.This means that atm ,alot of Ulster and more Connacht players actually in the squad imoAs those 2 teams have improved this and last year ,while Munster and Leinster have slipped,Yes theres been injuries ect,but then every team has them ,so thats no excuse really.
Posted 17:04 26th February 2013
paddy91317 says...
We need a kiwi coach who has superugby experience and absolutely no bias or regard for the big egos in ireland.... has worked wit anscime and schmidt and even to a lesser extent gatland when he wss in charge.... kidneys biggest problem isnt his gameplan or motivation its simply his selection policies (munster bias) and he clearly doesnt understand the term balance either murray sexton makes no sense having o mahoney start with heaslip and o brien makes no sense having 3 very light and fast back 3 makes no sense as every team needs atleast one ball carrier to get over the gainline.... having earls and o gara near the team not only doesnt make sense it makes any irish fan not from munster question his integrity.... i can honestly say i have loss all repect for kidney and in my opinion has destroyed his reputation
Posted 16:50 26th February 2013
Irishzimbabwean says...
99call - have to agree with you again here. An obvious candidate, if he wanted the job, would be Nick Mallett. Another to consider would be John Mitchell. But Mallett would be very good for Ireland. Thoughts?
Posted 15:23 26th February 2013
J_HDK says...
Starting without a regular, confirmed quality place kicker on the pitch was an enormous mistake with an easily predictable result.
If he was going to start Jackson, he also needed to start McFadden as a reliable back up place kicker.
What could not have been foreseen was the abysmal quality of Best's lineout throws. He's bad at the best of times but wow. I do believe that under normal conditions he is better in the lineout than Cronin but when a player is clearly having a nightmare, sub them.
re Heaslip's leadership - Heaslip performed well. I can't see what all the whinging is about. Only thing I would have done differently is more tap-and-go penalties. but he was backing his squadmates to do their job.... ie kick goals / secure own line out.
Posted 15:13 26th February 2013
3in4 says...
Like it or not, that's what Ireland needs: a coaching staff that has a winning record and that, unlike Declan Cabbage-Head, isn't tainted by provincial bias for or against a particular province. All 4 of Ireland's provinces have overseas coaches so it's time for the national team to follow suit. To be honest, O'Shea would not be a bad choice and even though he's Irish, it would be safer to go with the non-Irish option. It's time for a fundamental change in mentality here.
Also, all of the players I want to see dropped are not playing to the necessary standard for test rugby. The fact that they play for Munster never crossed my mind. Similarly, the guys I want to see picked are all in great form at the moment...and yes, that includes Toner, who'seen in top form recently. The fact that they all play for Leinster is immaterial. We should be picking the players who are playing well, and dropping those who aren't, simple as that. So enough of the Molly Malone/Roly Meates tribal provincial rubbish. This is the kind of crap that holds the Ireland team back. Munster fans need to grow up and give it a rest.
Posted 14:11 26th February 2013
RugbyNut says...
No, O'Shea still has work to do at Quins, leave him there!
Posted 13:51 26th February 2013
JoseArtigas1 says...
@3in4
So just pick the Leinster coaching team and drop all the players currently with Munster in favour of Leinster players? Should we adopt Molly Malone instead of Amhrán na bhFiann while we are at it?
Posted 11:59 26th February 2013
Kid_Diablo says...
To avoid provincial bias and have someone who can bring consistency what would everybody think about maybe bringing in vern cotter ?
Unfortunately the irfu have made it very difficult for themselves to convince a new coach to come in because anyone who takes this job only has 2 years to completely revamp an international team before the world cup. So what do you do ?
offer them 2 years ? no coach would put their reputation on the line like that.
offer them 4? then we're in the same situation as now in 4 years
offer them 6? that's far too long ( as we're seeing now ) and would be foolish for everyone involved ( i agree with ward that 4 years is the shelf life of a coach )
Posted 11:43 26th February 2013
rukrym says...
@3in4
I was with you until you mentioned Toner and lost all credibility... He can't even nail down a starting spot with Leinster in spite of out complete lack of quality (Cullen aside) in the second row. It's incredible that he was even on the Irish bench last weekend.
As much as I'd love to see O'Shea in charge, if I were him I wouldn't take the role. Just ask Eddie O'Sullivan if having the Irish job on you CV helps further your career. The man couldn't even get an interview with Connacht!
Posted 11:31 26th February 2013
ronanmeagher says...
@3in4 - don't forget Roly Meates
Posted 11:14 26th February 2013
Dougie says...
3in4, that's a poor effort. You need to be more subtle in your trolling.
Posted 11:14 26th February 2013
melkdave says...
As far as i know C'O'Shea hasnt even expressed any interest in taking over from D.Kidney.Also lets remember Kidney did pick the correct team.The stats prove that.Its the players and only the players who must be held accountable for losing against Scotland ,no one else.The coaches cant make that final pass or tackle for them after all or make on field decisions ..Yes Kidneys made mistakes what coach hasnt in his time??,Also his been to slow in blooding young talant ,and holding onto the old guard for too long,ala England after 2003.Thats his major mistake imo,Having said all that though,i do feel that D.Kidney needs tio go,i just cant see how he can start blooding the youngsters in the numbers he has to now I dont think he could bring himself to do it honestly.
Posted 10:29 26th February 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Ireland post BOD could be like England post Johnson. If I were o'Shea I would want to ride my Quins wave a few more years and pick up Ireland maybe in 5 years after the next guys shelf life expires.
Posted 10:24 26th February 2013
3in4 says...
Get Joe Schmidt in there at the helm, with Jono Gibbes as forwards coach and Greg Feek to coach the scrum. Get Murray, O'Gara, O'Callaghan, O'Mahoney, Earls out, and get Reddan, Madigan, Toner, Dominic Ryan, Fitzgerald/McFadden in. Now that's a winning formula. Then we'll have a team worth talking about.
Posted 10:22 26th February 2013
yelloj321 says...
Conor O'Shea could save this team from the drowning pit of despair it's found itself in for the past 3 years. Ruddock could at least build better character and break things back down to basics and build from there. As great as Kidney's achievement list is, he has failed to get consistent wins since 2009.
Posted 10:14 26th February 2013
rockman says...
@Gleek i think your idea is great but possible below O'Shea to take a development role. He has proved himself @Quinns
Posted 09:57 26th February 2013
lawynd says...
'Citing', not 'sighting', PR. You're welcome.
The Ireland job is as poisoned a chalice as any in the British Isles, and O'Shea should think long and hard about it if they were to offer it to him. Plus he might only be interested once he's won the Heineken Cup with Harlequins. He'd do an excellent job, though.
Posted 09:48 26th February 2013