Last week saw Declan Kidney announce a 29-man squad for Ireland’s three-test tour to New Zealand. The initial reaction from many Irish fans has been a repetition of the criticism which greeted Kidney’s Six Nations squad announcement. The introduction of Simon Zebo, Mike Sherry and Declan Fitzpatrick is a welcome move, but the feeling remains that the Irish management have missed the opportunity to expose more young talent to international rugby.
The three uncapped players mentioned above have all benefited from their breakthrough seasons at provincial level. Zebo has as many doubters as admirers, but it’s undeniable that the 22-year-old has evasive attacking talent and finishing prowess. Ulster fans will feel that Craig Gilroy was more deserving, while Leinster supporters have stated the case for Dave Kearney. That’s fair as all three young wingers have been impressive at different stages of the season. How difficult would it have been for Kidney to bring one more player with the squad, thus giving Kearney or Gilroy a genuine taste of what lies ahead for them?
Sherry’s campaign for Munster was halted early on by an ankle injury but he bounced back with intent in 2012. The Limerick man looked confident in all of his 9 starts this season, excepting the difficult night he had against the Ospreys in the PRO12 semi-final. The 23-year-old hooker is very mobile and most importantly, his throwing is generally very competent. With Rory Best and Sean Cronin also set to travel, Sherry’s best hope of game time is the third test at which point the series may already have been decided.
Ulster’s Fitzpatrick is another who has had injury struggles this season, with a neck problem sidelining him for 5 months. However, the tighthead prop has enjoyed a strong finish to the province’s campaign, with solid showings against Leinster, Edinburgh and Munster. His rise to international recognition has been swift. As pointed out by Liam Toland, the 28-year-old is a set-piece specialist who hasn’t shown too much in the loose just yet. But that’s exactly what Ireland want at tighthead right now. Lock out that scrum and you’ll be a hero Declan!
So are there any other new faces? Fitzpatrick’s Ulster team mates Darren Cave and Dan Tuohy have both been chosen to travel to NZ after consistently superb form for their province. Both are previously capped for Ireland, with Cave touring Canada/USA in 2009 and Tuohy coming off the bench twice during the 2010 tour to New Zealand. Tuohy has done more than enough to earn a starting place in the Irish XV to take on the All Blacks in the first test on June 9th, regardless of whether or not Paul O’Connell is fit. Donnacha Ryan will disagree after his Six Nations displays, but Tuohy has been brilliant all season. Kidney’s decision to bring Donncha O’Callaghan is hard to understand, especially with the ever-improving Devin Toner left at home.
25-year-old Cave has earned his place on the plane thanks to genuine improvements in his game this season. He has emerged as one of Ulster’s key players, highlighted by his display in the Heineken Cup final. He will have learned plenty from facing Brian O’Driscoll that day and will be keen to work closely with BOD on tour. Competition in the centre will be fierce, with Gordon D’Arcy, Fergus McFadden, O’Driscoll and Cave in contention. Kidney is likely to go with D’Arcy and O’Driscoll for the first test, but a pairing of McFadden and Cave at some stage would not be a surprise after the seasons they’ve had.
In my opinion, one of the major disappointments in Kidney’s squad was the omission of Ian Madigan. Ronan O’Gara is a legend of the game and has made vital contributions for Munster this season, but how much value is there in bringing the 35-year-old to New Zealand? Kidney knows exactly what he can do, and will still be able to do during next season’s Six Nations. Why not bring the highly talented Madigan, emerse him in the international routine and see how he reacts? Obviously an injury to Jonny Sexton would mean pitching Madigan into the deep end, but he has thrived in every challenges laid before him up to this point. Alternatively, why not extend the squad to 30 and include him that way?
There are four AN Other places in the squad being held for Paul O’Connell, Chris Henry, Isaac Boss and Brett Wilkinson, provided the quartet can prove their fitness. The absence of Boss from the Leinster squad for this weekend’s PRO12 final makes him a real doubt (also the knee injury to Sean O’Brien is a concern). Paul Marshall of Ulster will be waiting eagerly should Boss miss out. The Ulster scrumhalf has real spark and would be first-choice at most clubs. The continuing excellence of Ruan Pienaar must be frustrating for Marshall, who had a particularly magnificent spell of form around the turn of the year.
Henry would be gutted to miss this tour after the brilliant performances he’s put in for Ulster. He has adapted well to position of openside despite being more of a natural 6 or 8. He has put his hand up for a starting role against the All Blacks. Like Fitzpatrick, his rise from a player of potential to international level has been swift. The amount of pre-Heineken Cup hype surrounding Henry was testament to that. Connacht’s Wilkinson has had another solid season, and is likely to tour with Tom Court out injured. O’Connell’s recovery is crucial if Ireland are to stand any chance of a first-ever win over the All Blacks.
The squad is picked, and most of us could predict Declan Kidney’s starting XV for the first test with close to 100% accuracy. The hope is that the Ireland coach lets his players off the leash in NZ. Ireland need to take momentum and inspiration from Leinster’s sparkling season, regardless of the result in the PRO12 final. Kidney must encourage his players to really play. A more adventurous, higher-risk game plan could pay off. What have Ireland got to lose? Most fans would predict a 3-0 series win for the All Blacks. In New Zealand, Ireland are viewed as cannon fodder. Hopefully Kidney throws caution to the wind for once and gives his players the freedom to excel. Even if three losses followed, I reckon most Irish rugby supporters would be happy to see some genuine development in Ireland’s playing style. On top of that, if Kidney can expose guys like Sherry, Zebo, Fitzpatrick, Cave and Tuohy to international rugby, then the tour will have been of real benefit.
What’s your take on the Ireland squad? Who would you have liked to see included? Was Zebo the right call over Gilroy and Kearney? Would you have brought Madigan to NZ? Leave a comment with all your views!
Another good article Murray and one that I had been expecting to read on the site, as it is an area that I was vying to vent my frustration. I think its an absolute disgrace that Ian Madigan didn’t get selected. His performances for Leinster all year have been incredible and the fact he has shown in his last few outings that he does in fact have a kicking game should have cemented his inclusion. I had heard before the selection that he wasn’t going to be selected, but I thought it was because Paddy Wallace was going to be thrown in. This would have been a harsh call, but not bringing Wallace and bringing O’Gara doesn’t make sense whatsoever. The next test to NZ is in 12 years time, so this is definitely an opportunity wasted for the future of Irish rugby.
Also the inclusion of Zebo ahead of Gilroy rings of Munster bias. How Kidney came about this selection choice baffles me and a justification as to his selection process would be interesting to hear to say the least.
Another player who I feel is extremely unlucky to miss out is Mike McCarthy. He has played solidly for Connacht all year and bringing O’Callaghan ahead of McCarthy or Toner doesn’t make sense either. The way Toner has excelled in the last few games deserves some recognition and it should have been between the two younger second-rows rather then O’Callaghan. There is no doubting that O’Callaghan has been a great servant and stalwart as has O’Gara but based on his performances this season it looks like time has caught up on him.
I think Kidneys selection process was his last opportunity to gain some credibility from all the Irish fans outside of Munster and he has blown it. Only three uncapped players being included is an absolute disgrace and the fact that two of them are Munster players, taking into consideration the seasons that Leinster and Ulster have had respectively, is the icing on the cake in my opinion.
Yeah McCarthy is unlucky to miss out, particularly with O’Callaghan going. He’s been great for Connacht all year, as you said. Toner too, thought he was excellent again in the PRO12 final. He’s improved so much this season and continues to get better. Will surely be involved internationally next year, especially if he gets a more important role with Leinster now that Thorn is gone.
Yeah this seems to have been the final straw for a lot of people with regards to Kidney. I wonder would a first win over the All Blacks go any way to changing the consensus that he is done? Not saying that I think we’ll win down there by the way! Most fans, myself included, would have rather seen more players being developed on this tour and I feel that it is an opportunity missed.
A first win over the All Blacks would be a huge shock and quite frankly I cant see it happening regardless of the team they pick. The squad they have especially in the back line would strike fear into any team, especially an Irish side that is mis-managed and in need of a new lease of life.
From reports from yesterdays Ba-Bas match it sounded like Craig Gilroy had an impressive game scoring twice and providing good link up play. But what does that mean for him now when he is not going to NZ? Surely he will have to be included?
Would be good to see Ronan Loughney going as well, another promising player who should be included in the NZ squad.
A win is very unlikely. Agree about their backline looking particularly dangerous. If guys like Andre Taylor, TJ Perenara and Robbie Fruean can be left out of the squad completely, that just shows their strength!
The reports from yesterday do indeed suggest that Gilroy was one of the stars of the game. Kidney may actually be thankful that the game wasn’t on tv, providing critics with more ammunition to criticise the squad selection! Would have loved to have seen the game, with so many fringe players getting their chances!
God bless your optimism Murray, but I’ll eat my hat if we see a pairing of McFadden and Cave at any point on this tour. It doesn’t matter how good a season they’ve had, because as neither of them has accumulated 50 caps they will not be trusted together. The likelihood is that McFadden will be used on the wing, as Deccie apparently prefers him there, while Cave might see a few minutes alongside Darcy, or, God forbid, a Johnny Sexton who has been shunted out to twelve in order to give ROG a try-haemorrhaging twenty minutes at 10.
Apparently you have to have many years experience in every area of the field which will mean O’Callaghan starting every test if O’Connell doesn’t make it. Donncha O’Callaghan, nice guy that he is, is not exactly a thinker on the pitch, in fact he is on record as saying he needs to know what his specific role is in every situation or he doesn’t know what to do. He adds nothing in terms of leadership or direction, and clearly no longer has the engine to get through the work he used to, so what possible benefit can we gain from his experience that cannot be had from all the other 50+ cap-owners on the team?
You ask why not bring a 30 man squad and include Madigan? Why not bring a 35 man squad and include Madigan, Gilroy, Dave Kearney, Paul Marshall, and Devin Toner?
Haha my optimism will always be strong, no matter how bad it gets! But seriously, you’re probably right. Kidney loves his experienced players. I had genuine hopes that the lack of success in the last 2-3 years would finally see Kidney learning to adapt his management/selection style but it looks like it’ll never happen! Hopefully we see Cave at least get a run or two, just to keep his improvement accelerating.
Again, O’Callaghan is the perfect illustration of our frustrations. A 35-man squad is a good suggestion. I think Kidney mentioned something about that being too big a squad to bring down to New Zealand, possibly to do with finances? It would have allowed those players you mentioned to tour though and that development would surely have been worth the money? I still think Kidney could have made better choices, even within the 29-man squad.
Massive mistake leaving madigan at home, toner also, his improvements this year have been huge and he should be rewarded. Gilroy has been better overall than zebo and kearney better than both. I understand some of his decisions as he prob wants to try and beat a weakened NZ team before his likely departure next year,but why not bring a bigger training squad and if things dont go well in the first two tests give the new lads a go, england did it with the “tour to hell” and blooded lots of young players which helped them in following years.
Colm, glad you agree about Madigan. And again, the idea of a bigger squad, which Steve also mentioned above, is sensible. If Ireland lose the first two tests then I’d actually be angry if guys likes Cave, McFadden, Tuohy, Cronin, O’Mahony, etc. don’t start the third and get that valuable experience.
You mention that Kidney probably wants to beat New Zealand before he finishes with Ireland and that might explain some of his choices. But similarly, he would have wanted to win the Six Nations this year, but his team selection and tactics simply didn’t work. I’d be worried against the All Blacks if there aren’t clear changes.
I’m not so sure about Madigan, he’s in fine form but hasn’t been trusted for the bigger games by Leinster, his only HCup start this season was because Sexton failed a fitness test, he go no gametime in last years or this years League finals and pnly got 7 mins in the hcup final when Leinster lead by double scores. Also, Leinster seem to prefer another kicker, this in itself isn’t a huge problem but it seems Ireland like their outhalf as the kicker.
As for adding one of Gilroy or D Kearney, add both or leave as is.
Interesting to see someone disagree about Madigan. The consensus is that he should be going. You make valid points about his lack of H-Cup action this season, but I think the mention of Sexton explains that. The level to which he’s developed means that if he was at another club/province, he probably would have seen more game time in Europe. I just think he has shown so much potential and confidence that getting him involved internationally, especially on a tour, would be a good thing sooner rather than later!
The kicking thing is also a good point. Despite a few decent cameos off the tee, we still haven’t seen his place-kicking enough to know whether or not he is consistent. As you say, Ireland don’t have any other kickers in their first-choice team. My crusade to have Fergus McFadden start at 12 would solve that though!
Great article.
As an Ospreys fan, I was impressed by Devin Toner in the Pro12 final – he dominated at the restart and put himself about all afternoon. Tuohy has consistently offered a physical presence and plenty at the line-out, and Donncha Ryan was one of few Irish players to genuinely impress in the 6N, and throughout the season with Munster. Yet I’m unsurprised with Kidney’s approach. I’m almost expecting him to continue to wheel these guys out when it comes to RWC2015.
That same approach is continued throughout the team, however, and is reflects Irish selections over the past few years. The ongoing selection of O’Gara is akin to a child not wishing to let go of his comfort blanket. Paddy Jackson displayed in the ERC Final that he is a few years short of international quality, but Madigan and Keatley have both demonstrated an ability to play quality rugby in the Pro12. Ulster fans earlier in the season were questioning PJ’s ability at the top level and he was found out at Twickers, though credit goes to Ulster for giving him the 10 jersey when Ian Humphreys would have been a safer pair of hands. Madigan was impressive at the RDS in the round-robin game versus the Ospreys, whilst Keatley seemed to offer more at 10 than O’Gara did in the Pro12 semi-final.
Across the three-quarters, the inclusion of Zebo is warranted for his attacking ability, but his defensive frailties were laid bare by a rampant Ospreys side in the semi-final which seemed to almost target him as the weak link. His ability in defence will only get better, but with no mid-week games I’m unsure as to whether he’d get any game time against players like Gear, Savea, Jane etc.
For me, however, the greatest surprise is that Kidney continues to select Gordon D’arcy, who has been consistently poor for Ireland in recent seasons, and who was literally dreadful in this past 6N campaign. Paddy Wallace and Darren Cave have impressed at Ulster, and whilst the Leinster back three of Nacewa, Kearney and Fitzgerald/McFadden have been one of the best back threes in Europe over the past couple of seasons, I can’t help thinking that it’s despite D’arcy’s involvement than because of it. O’Driscoll continues to appear on merit (though I’m unconvinced that he’s doing anything other than self-serving himself a Lions place by not retiring from internationals and forcing Kidney to think ahead to 2015). D’arcy is there because he’s always been there. I’d like to see McFadden given the chance at 12 as he’s impressed with his control and kicking when he’s played in the centre previously.
Great post Mark! You’re right about Toner, he had an excellent PRO12 final, he’s improved so much this season under Schmidt. Even his handling has come on so much, we saw a few glimpses of it throughout the season with deft offloads and passes.
The ROG thing is obviously a tricky situation. He’s been a true legend of the game for Munster and Ireland, especially under Kidney. ROG has pulled through for Kidney so many times, worked his team out of difficult situations. It’s completely natural that Kidney feels deep loyalty towards him. This season has definitely seen a decrease in his effectiveness though. Those two drop goals early on in the H-Cup were obviously superb, but I really felt that O’Gara’s inability/unwillingness to attack the gainline blunted Munster’s attacking play. As you say, Keatley did well in that game vs. the Ospreys. He’s had a bit of an up and down season, but I thought himself and Earls linked up intuitively on a few occasions against the Ospreys, and that’s really promising. Don’t need to talk about Madigan again!
I’m in total agreement about D’Arcy. I’ve been harping on about it all season long on my blog! McFadden has had a great season and has excelled at 12 when he’s been given the chance. I reckon you’ll like this article – http://wp.me/p1YRmJ-ld