Ireland failing to see the light
With the outcome known a good three weeks ago, the Magners League came to an end on Saturday, leaving all those in Ireland looking forward to a summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.
With the outcome known a good three weeks ago, the Magners League came to an end on Saturday, leaving all those in Ireland looking toward the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.
Just how much they will be looking forward to it is another question. Lest we forget, Ireland are not doing so well at the moment, their recent World Cup and Six Nations campaigns are two very good cases in point.
With Eddie O'Sullivan finally prised from his throne, albeit voluntarily, there was much hope of a new-look Ireland, a side that could bring back the not-so-distant hope of beating all three Southern Hemisphere giants. It was only two years ago that the men in green accounted for South Africa and Australia, back-to-back, with such authority.
Obviously the gradual decline in form since then has nothing to do with the players and everything to do with the coaching staff. How else do you explain the squad selected for their upcoming tour. Nobody was expecting a glut of changes but we were all expecting to see a few heads role and the introduction of several 'young guns'.
Instead we see a squad that is as predictable as a Bruce Willis film. Michael Bradley, who has one fleeting chance at achieving something great, has kept faith with a group of ageing players who were once a great team. Maybe he is fed up of the dregs of Irish rugby at Connacht and wanted to use this trip to work with Ireland's better players?
Whatever his reasons he is unlikely to see an improvement in his personal win-lose record and Declan Kidney will therefore inherit a side even lower on morale – if that is humanly possible – at the start of next season. All this brings up the question of why no change? Unless the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) leave the entire blame for previous failures firmly on Eddie O'Sullivan's shoulders – nothing like a scapegoat is there?
Something of a contradiction then seeing that the review into the World Cup failure resulted in the following conclusion: “Management, players and the IRFU should all accept individual and collective responsibility for the poor showing, adding that rumoured personal issues and rifts within the squad did not exist.”
On that basis there are a host of players, all selected for this tour, who should follow Eddie O'Sullivan's lead and have the decency to retire. Not least to save their own reputations, most of which are on the wane, but to give Ireland a chance at building a squad capable of challenging in New Zealand in three years' time.
It is no good stepping down in a year or two: if Ireland want to become a world force they must act now – even if that means dropping big name players. One can only hope that Kidney has a smidgeon more pride in the Irish jersey, and his own reputation as a class coach, and gets rid of the dead wood – by the time he gets his say he could be needing a mighty axe.
You can't tell me the likes of Malcolm O'Kelly, John Hayes and Peter Stringer are still going to be around in three years' time. Stringer is struggling to hold onto a starting berth with Munster, so what hope has he of claiming the Ireland scrum-half jersey from Eoin Reddan?
O'Kelly, who has 91 caps to his name, will be 37 by the time the next World Cup is here and it is pretty safe to say he won't be going. Would it not be better then to have another look at Trevor Hogan, or instead of leaving them at home after the Barbarians game take Bob Casey and Ryan Caldwell on tour.
Yes there are world ranking points to consider with the World Cup draw coming later this year, but do the IRFU honestly believe the squad they have selected can win on tour? If so, and Ireland pull off a miracle tour, hats off to them. If, as expected, they return with nothing to show for their efforts then what have Ireland gained?
Ireland's continued faith in this bunch of players is now verging on blind stupidity. There are other options yet the IRFU continue to ignore them, and the longer they do so the harder it will be to rectify the damage that is being done.
By Marcus Leach