Coach Kidney started early

Declan Kidney's introduction to coaching came as a 19-year-old when he was invited to take charge of the Presentation College Brothers, Cork, Under-13s. A former pupil of the college, he was a keen student of rugby, a love instilled by his father, Joe, a past president of the Dolphin club. Father and son would watch three games on a weekend and Declan would play in another.

Kidney cites Brother John Beacher, Des Barry and Christy Cantillon as early influences. He returned to Pres Cork having earned a H Dip at UCC, and initially taught commerce before taking over as a career guidance teacher.

His rugby curriculum vitae is little short of phenomenal. At PBC he won four successive Munster Junior Cups and then four Senior Cups in five years.

He coached the Irish Schools to a Triple Crown, and led them on a tour of New Zealand, winning seven of nine matches. He guided Ireland to a FIRA Under-19 World Cup final triumph, beating France in Toulouse in the final.

Kidney was not the first choice for his current position as Munster coach, and he was elevated only because others rejected IRFU overtures. The players of the time were initially sceptical, fearing a school-mastery approach: a night on the beer, so legend would have it, dissolved any misconceptions. An historic three interprovincial titles in succession, a European Cup final and semi-final appearance in successive seasons underline his coaching prowess and his ability to extract the best from his players. He also won a Triple Crown with Ireland A.

The 41-year-old Kidney now moves up to join the senior national management as assistant coach.