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
Dub_Len_Irl says...
@gleek
I agree, my preferred option is to have Joe Schmidt move to the Ireland job and have Conor O'Shea take over at Leinster with a view to Conor moving onto the Ireland job when Joe moves on.
I'd be quite happy to have Joe stay at Leinster and Conor go straight to the nation team too, but I don't think Leinster will hold onto Joe, his 'stock' has moved too high.
So the first option seems to be the best for both Ireland & Leinster for the next few years
Posted 09:45 26th February 2013
Theshaw says...
Conor o'Shea head coach, Schmidt as attack and Ruddock as defence!!! Now that would be quite something!!
Posted 09:35 26th February 2013
99call says...
Sorry GLEEK but we dont need another provincially biased coach taking over in the top job, I think Schmidt is a top coach but we're going to be in the same situation in terms of the players he'll pick as you cant tell me he wont favour the Leinster players hes been working with for the past couple of years and you wouldnt blame him for that as any coach will opt for players he knows were he can.
You could say OShea could have bias because hes an irishman but at the end of the day hes a connacht man who played for Leinster but the main thing is he has never coached any of the current crop of players and potential young players and has had nothing to do with Irish rugby since his playing days so to me hes the perfect man for the job as hes irish, as to be honest we all still want a home coach, and he doesnt come with any provincial baggage and he was on record last year in saying that he would pick Tomy Bowe at 13 as the replacement for BOD when he retires so to me hes recognised that Tommy could be the answer at 13 rather than DKs failed attempts to make international centres out of the likes of Earls and McFadden.
So it has to be OShea or someone who has not had any link with the provinces before which for me rules out the likes of Schmidt and Anscombe
Posted 09:33 26th February 2013
Gleek says...
Was playing Jackson a mistake? I don't think so... Though he might have benefited from being on the bench in the first two games.
Personally if like to see Schmidt get the job. He really developed Leinster into the best team in Europe. I'd then like to see the IRFU make a real effort at bringing O'Shea in to fill in the vacancy at Leinster with a eye to him developing further and eventually becoming the leading candidate to succeed Schmidt at Ireland.
Posted 08:45 26th February 2013
leinster_goy says...
tony "worrying times, ryle" ward trying to get his RTE mate a job, by the sounds of it
Posted 08:40 26th February 2013