DON’T SWEAT the small stuff and, it would seem, it’s all small stuff – or at any rate Ireland’s biggest game for at least six years against the reigning champions in their little 72,500-capacity backyard is no different from any other game in this year’s RBS Six Nations. Such was Ireland coach Declan Kidney’s sang-froid yesterday it seemed almost rude to mention the Grand Slam.
His relaxed demeanour can be attributed to Ireland approaching the game unbeaten and also in rude health. Apart from Mick O’Driscoll replacing Malcolm O’Kelly after the second round of games, the 22 have remain unchanged. There remains a slight concern about Denis Leamy, whose shoulder injury obliged him to sit out yesterday morning’s session at the RDS along with Stephen Ferris and Peter Stringer. But Kidney is confident all “will be good to go”. For the 92-times capped O’Kelly, this must be a hard week to adopt a watching brief.
Probably only Kidney could begin a press conference with the words: “I was afraid you’d ask me that,” in reference to a request to outline the reasoning behind his selection. “It’s very difficult to explain. The differences between the players are so small. Given it’s 100 times worse for the players, it’s still been a difficult 24 hours.”
Facing their shortest turnaround between matches in the tournament, the training load will be considerably lightened this week. “We’ve gone to the well a few times with these lads but they’re still good and thirsty,” said Kidney. He must be delighted to have reached this point, four wins from four and no injuries, while having made four changes to the starting line-up last week and therefore come to the conclusion that this is their best team for their biggest match.
As expected, Gordon D’Arcy worked his way through his first Test in over a year last Saturday impressively. Having defended a little softly against the battering ram that was Graeme Morrison, by the end he was meeting the Scots on the gain-line and generating some momentum in the midfield car crashes as well as making a couple of offloads in the traffic.
Although, as Kidney admitted, “Paddy Wallace has done nothing wrong”, D’Arcy just gives the team that little bit more going forward, and Ireland are going to need all the go-forward they can get against the Welsh, for whom the game starts with the collisions.
While Jamie Heaslip’s recall in place of Leamy is perhaps more down to form and match hardness, similarly to the midfield decision, Jerry Flannery and Tomás O’Leary regaining their places ahead of Rory Best and Peter Stringer. The latter call is also, perhaps, to counter the 6ft 3in, 16 and a half stone presence of Mike Phillips, although Kidney maintained he was not a horses-for-courses coach per se. Rather, based on training, “how some players link off other players, combinations that make it right for the team”.
The side is probably the one you would have pencilled in a few games ago, with D’Arcy for Wallace effectively being the only change to the team that played France, Italy and England.
Kidney denied that his own experience of coaching Munster to Heineken Cup wins, not to mention after two final defeats, was helpful, but it clearly will be, as will the players’ own experience of massive matches.
“After this I think the players have another local derby next week and a handy one (Heineken Cup quarter-finals) the week after. That’s the life for professionals. If we are beaten in Cardiff and walk away with nothing, once we can look at ourselves and say we gave it our best shot, that won’t be such a bad place to be.
“It seems as though every game we have played so far has gotten tougher and tougher and we’ve had to play a little bit better in games. Sometimes the spectacle is not one that pleases everyone but that is credit to the way the opposition play. Everyone knows how Wales defend, it’s claustrophobic.
“Whatever about inside the ground, it’s going to be difficult to find space on the pitch. It’s about knowing the nuances which can open things up. I have never met a player who goes out trying to play a bad game. I have no doubt every player will try to play the best game they can on Saturday. It’s just the honesty of effort.
“We’re working on attack play, keeping the ball alive and on how much that is down to the strength of opposition defences or our own ability to read situations. That takes pressure off defences and (also) no defence coach is ever 100 per cent happy with how things have gone.”
Possibly only Kidney could have ended a press conference thus either. Asked if he ever imagined himself here, he simply smiled and said: “No.” That’s another thing he’s learned. He may as well enjoy weeks like this.
