Another 3 candidates for Ireland head coach

Mike Ruddock

Here is a slightly different option to the other possible replacements I mentioned in my last blog post. Whilst the likes of Conor O’Shea and Joe Schmidt are coaching clubs in Ireland, Mike Ruddock is actually part of the IRFU and is currently the head coach for the Under-20 team. This makes it an interesting choice as no doubt Ruddock will be more familiar with the Ireland system than any of the other possible candidates.  Since his appointment in 2010 Ruddock will have seen and coached the new players that are starting to break into the Ireland team such as Craig Gilroy and Simon Zebo.

Additionally it would seem to be a perfect fit for Ireland who are currently going through a transitional period as they look to blood in more and more youngsters. Ruddock’s knowledge of Ireland’s upcoming talent is a factor that definitely puts him in contention for the job. He will know who is ready to step up into the senior team and how Ireland can develop over the coming years to become a formidable side once again.

Last year, he led Ireland to their best finish in the Junior World Cup. They managed to beat England and France on their way to a fifth placed finish. Ruddock also had success before his appointment into the Ireland set-up, coaching Wales to their first Grand Slam in 28 years in 2006.

Ruddock seems to have all the ingredients to be a good manager for Ireland, but with other impressive CV’s out there the bookies have him as slight chance at 12/1.

Graham Henry

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One of those impressive CV’s belong to former New Zealand head coach Graham Henry. Currently working in a consultancy role with the Argentinian rugby federation, Henry has had a highly successful career that the IRFU  cannot overlook. During his time as head coach of New Zealand, he won the World Cup and retired with an outstanding 84% win percentage. Henry has also got experience in the Northern Hemisphere as he was head coach of Wales for four years. He was also handed the role of head coach for the Lions in 2001.

Despite his highly decorated CV, the main problem in getting Henry to coach Ireland would be whether or not he wants to commit himself to another international role. Aged 66, it might be fair to say he wouldn’t want to guide Ireland through a tough transitional period which could take several years.

The bookmakers seem to think one more stint in International rugby may be a bridge too far for Henry and have him at big odds, 66/1.

 

Nick Mallet

Mallet has been out of an international head coach job since his departure from Italy in 2011, and could be a possible replacement for Declan Kidney. During his time at the helm of Italian rugby he improved them a good deal, and in particular made them a hard side to beat. Earlier on his career as manager of South Africa, between August 1997 and December 1998 he led them to 17 consecutive test wins. During which the Springboks won the Tri-Nations in 1998, and then got to the semi-finals of the world cup only for their winning run to be ended by England at Twickenham on December 5th 1998.

Incidentally Mallet was touted to replace England coach Martin Johnson but as we all know, it was Stuart Lancaster who was appointed instead. Mallet has been linked to a number of vacancies since he left Italy but hasn’t moved anywhere, so would the challenge of guiding Ireland back to what they were a few years ago seem like an attractive proposition? Paddy Power aren’t so sure and have him as an outside shout at 30/1.

3 possible replacements for Declan Kidney.

Over the last couple of days I’ve been trying my very best to get some interviews for the blog but unfortunately it’s not going too well. Whether it be rejections from coaches and ex-players or simply that they don’t get back to me, it’s been a task much harder than I had previously envisaged.

That said, I must continue to blog and following my post on Declan Kidney’s future last week, I’ve decided to write about his possible replacements. So up first is…

Conor O’Shea:

Picture belongs to the Guardian

The first candidate Conor O’Shea, is the only Irishman in with a shout for the Ireland job. He is currently the Director of Rugby at Harlequins as well as an RTE pundit. He has impressed during his time at Harlequins, especially after they won the Premiership last year. In terms of this year’s success, Quins are performing well in the Heineken Cup, having won all their games in the group.

As an RTE pundit, O’Shea also demonstrates his knowledge of the game with insightful analysis and is known for his ‘no-nonsense’ approach when talking about the sport. Additionally he was voted the Rugby Director of the year at the age of 32 during his time at London Irish.

Whether he would want the Ireland job is in the balance, though he may not want to leave Harlequins considering their good performances this season. Then again, the IRFU job may be too good to turn down if he is given the chance.

On Paddy Power, O’Shea is currently an outside bet at 16/1.

Ewen McKenzie:

Former Australian Rugby Union prop and current coach of the Queensland Reds, Ewen McKenzie could be a possible replacement for Declan Kidney. After stating his intention to leave the Reds at the end of the season and pursue a slightly different career path he could well be in line to be offered the Ireland job. Whilst many believe he wants to be the Australia head coach, McKenzie has insisted that he doesn’t want to to put pressure on current coach Robbie Deans ahead of the matches against the Lions in June.

In terms of his coaching CV, McKenzie transformed the Reds when he took over in 2009, leading them to 5th place and narrowly missing out on the play-offs. He also led the team to a Super Rugby Grand Final in 2011, beating the Canterbury Crusaders 18-13.

McKenzie hasn’t ruled out a possible move overseas which does throw up the opportunity for him to take over at the helm of Irish rugby. The bookies seem to to think this a big factor and have him as the favourite to be the new Ireland boss at 1/4

Joe Schmidt:

Now this is a candidate who is steeped in accolades following his time at French side Clermont and his ongoing success at Leinster. He won the French Championship before moving to Leinster in 2010 and won back-to-back Heineken cups. The Leinster back line has been particularly impressive since his arrival.

With such a plethora of past achievements to strengthen his case in becoming Ireland Head Coach, Schmidt could well be getting a ring in the coming months. Despite signing a one-year extension with Leinster, he has expressed his desire to return to New Zealand because of family commitments, and this could prove to be a stumbling block for the Ireland hierarchy.

The bookmakers seem to think Schmidt is real possibility for the Ireland job and have him second favourite at 3/1.

There’s three potential replacements, I’ll hopefully have a few more for you to mull over in the coming week.

End of the road for Declan Kidney?

After such a disappointing 6 Nations, questions soon begin to emerge such as what went wrong and how we can improve for next time. Despite all being acceptable questions that certainly need answers, there is one that takes precedence.

Who is to blame?

Like with any other sport, when results start to take a turn for the worst and the team is playing poorly, all fingers begin to point at the management. Take football for example (or soccer if you’re Irish). Whenever a team starts to slip down the table, it immediately comes down to the manager and what he is doing wrong. On the odd occasion you might get some calls for players to take a look at themselves but most of the time it is the manager who gets moved on.

So, with that in mind, and after a forgettable 6 Nations campaign, Ireland head coach, Declan Kidney, has understandably come under a severe amount of pressure to step down. Ireland’s performance in the 6 Nations was one of the worst I’ve ever seen and there are stats to back up my opinion. As I mentioned in my previous post, Ireland were on 3 match winless streak, their worst in 6 Nations history, and a lost to Italy last weekend served to extend this awful record.

The players will have to take a long hard look at themselves and ensure they improve their performance, especially as some still have a chance to impress Warren Gatland ahead of his selection for the Lions Tour. But no-matter how much the Irish players underperformed, fingers will now be firmly pointed at Declan Kidney.

Since his hugely successful first year in charge (2009) where he managed a great achievement in leading Ireland to a Grand slam and Triple Crown, they have won only half of their last 18 games in the tournament. Kidney has been in charge of the Ireland team for 5 years now and whilst he will have great memories of his success in 2009, since then Ireland have gone off the boil. Irish fans will find it hard to cast their minds back to that glorious year for Irish rugby, especially considering the state of the Ireland national team now.

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However some there is sympathy that can be had for Kidney.

After Ireland’s impressive victory over Wales in the first week, injuries soon began to hit some of the players. It was almost like a plague, player after player hauled off and even substitutes having to be substituted due to injury. Before Ireland’s last game to Italy, Kidney had to pick a team even though 13 players were unavailable. Any coach would have struggled at that point and Kidney must have thought what he done to deserve it. In addition  Ireland are currently in a process of transition as young players such as Simon Zebo, Paddy Jackson and Craig Gilroy start to make their way into the first team.

His contract doesn’t end until after Ireland’s tour of the North America in June, but it seems unlikely he will manage the team for those Test matches. It would be nonsensical to allow Kidney to go on in charge if a new coach was being appointed for next season. He says he will fight on as Ireland coach, but it seems inevitable that his time as Ireland’s head coach is over.

A mix of frustration and anger for Ireland in the 6 Nations.

I’m starting to run out of adjectives to use in order to describe Ireland’s performances in the 6 Nations. A tournament that promised so much after an impressive win against Wales in the first week has become one of frustration and total disappointment. Even with a few new faces in the team, you would have expected Ireland to have done much better and not be in position where they are breaking records, all for the wrong reasons.

After their defeat to France last week, Ireland were on a three game win-less streak, their worst run in 6 Nations history. A defeat against Italy makes things even worse and to compile more misery on the defeat, Ireland had won all 13 previous fixtures against the Italians. What’s more, Ireland hadn’t lost a test match to the Azzurri since December 1997.  There’s even a chance that Ireland could receive the wooden spoon if France manage to beat Scotland by more than 17 points.

After looking at the stats and records, you can now see why I’m starting to run out of negative adjectives to describe Ireland’s ‘participation’ in the 6 Nations.

However one stat that stands to defends Ireland’s position in the 6 nations are the injuries. Along the way, Ireland have picked up numerous injuries which have contributed to their steady decline down the table.  Jonathon Sexton who has become one of the first names on the team sheet over the last couple of years, suffered injury early on in the game against England and hasn’t recovered to play since.  As well as Sexton, there have a number of players ruled out through injury which has inevitably caused Ireland’s demise in the tournament.

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Today’s game against Italy is a perfect case in point. Before the match had started Ireland were missing 13 players, and then went onto lose even more players in succession during the match.

At first glance a number of fans will understandably be very disappointed with Ireland’s showing in the Nations, but if you look at the amount of players Declan Kidney has lost then you can start to understand why things went horribly wrong after the first week.  I think the most suitable word to use when looking back at the 6 Nations from an Irish perspective is one of frustration rather than anger.

Despite this, fingers will now start to point at Kidney whose contract with the Irish team is soon to be up. After 5 years at the helm it’s hard to see how he will continue, and when the dust finally settles in the next few days, it will be interesting to see who Ireland choose to replace him. 

Here are my thoughts on Declan Kidney’s future