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

End of an era for Ireland?

Last week I previewed Ireland’s game against France, and said that I believed there was still many reasons for Ireland to show what they can do despite not being able to win the tournament.

A week on, and a defeat to France in Dublin, you could argue that there are now even more reasons for Ireland to put in a performance in their last fixture against Italy.

Or, is it the end of an era for Ireland?

Should they try and move on from what has been a shambles of a tournament?

Last week, battered and bruised, Brian O’Driscoll soldiered on to play the remaining minutes against France. The crowd looked on with anguish, as it seemed the sun was finally beginning to set on what has been a legendary career for the outside centre.

Even wife Amy Huberman began to cry, as he trudged off the field, head down, the thought of retirement weighing heavy on his mind.

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Though with that said, the 34 year-old has maintained that he will not make a decision on his retirement until the end of the season.

If the Irish can take anything from this tournament, it’s that, the possibility that he may take to the field of the Aviva stadium and grace the fans with his talent yet again.

However when the time comes and O’Driscoll does decide to hang up his boots, will it signal the end of an era for Ireland as they start to blood more and more youngsters into the national team.

It’s been seen already this tournament, as a host of new faces have earned their first cap. Craig Gilroy, Simon Zebo and Paddy Jackson to name a few.

And to be fair to them, they’ve performed quite well, so the future could look fairly bright despite the absence of one of Ireland’s best ever players.

Although to produce someone talented as O’Dricoll has been down the years will take something special.

Gilroy, who has shown glimpses of what he can do, (one being his try against Scotland) could well be on his way to becoming a good player for Ireland and I’m sure any Irish fan would be delighted if he grew to become half the player O’Driscoll was.

And Gilroy has the opportunity to display his talents again this weekend as Ireland take on Italy, a team they would have been confident of beating prior to the tournament. Maybe not so much now.

If Ireland are to regain any sort of pride from this tournament, they have one last chance to do it. They need to beat Italy and beat them well.

Last week could have been O’Dricoll’s last performance in front a home crowd. Could this weekend prove to be his last in an Ireland shirt?

What now for Ireland and their 6 Nations campaign?

In what has been a miserable 6 Nations for Ireland, they currently sit 4th with no hope of winning the tournament , after defeat to Scotland last week, but a possible chance of getting the dreaded wooden spoon, something that wouldn’t have come into the thought of any Irish fan before the tournament started.

This notion would have become even more absurd after their first fixture, where they managed to beat Wales in Cardiff thanks to a scintillating first half performance. Since then, Ireland haven’t won a game and have gone from early favorites to a team looking to salvage anything from a disastrous 6 Nations.

Though it must be said Declan Kidney has been unfortunate in that some of his more experienced players were injured before the tournament or have injured themselves as it has gone on, Jonathon Sexton, Tommy Bowe and Captain Paul O’Connell to name a few.

The Nation they face this weekend isn’t doing any better mind. France, with no wins thus far, have also vastly underperformed. With both teams desperate to regain some pride, it will be an intriguing match that neither team will want to lose. Something they’ve becoming all too familiar with.

Dignity

Whilst Ireland can’t win the tournament, they still have the opportunity to win their last two games and have some dignity come the end of the tournament. No player can feel sorry for themselves at this point, they need to believe in their ability and take this into each of the remaining matches. If they do that, and win, then you could argue that this 6 Nations wasn’t a complete failure.

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Youngsters

Since last summer Declan Kidney has blooded a host of youngster into the Ireland squad, as the transition from the veteran players to a new line of Irish youngsters continue. Look at Paddy Jackson, Craig Gilroy, even Simon Zebo (despite his injury) all coming into the squad as the Ireland team takes on a new mold, set for another ten years.

What these young players have now is a chance to play rugby at the highest level, a chance to show what they can do, a chance to prove that they are good enough to play for their Nation. And on top of all this, they have the opportunity to do it without too much pressure. The hope of winning the tournament is over, so they can play with a bit of freedom and express themselves in the next two matches.

Lions Tour

While the younger players set sights on their future careers over the next ten years in the Ireland squad, the senior players will be looking to the nearer future and the Lions 2013 tour. In what has been a poor tournament for so many of the Irish players, these last two games will allow them to prove why they still should be included.

Even Cian Healy will have a chance to repair his image and reaffirm his position in the Lions squad after his horrific stamp in the game against England. Hopefully for him, Warren Gatland will overlook that rush of blood and choose him to be part of the forward line.

Scotland Vs Ireland: All that matters is the scoreboard

Wasted chances, no cutting edge and toothless. Just some of the words and phrases that could be used to sum up Ireland’s performance against Scotland today. Looking at the stats after the game (aside from the final score of course) you could only imagine one winner. In the first half Ireland had an astonishing 75% of possession and 86% territory, and yet they only went into the half time break 3-0 up. This theme continued into the second half as Ireland dominated proceeding’s, but were left stunned as Scotland finished the game triumphant.

There’ll be a whole host questions asked after the match, all worded differently, all wanting an answer, but all essentially the same. How did Scotland manage to win? Here are my thoughts…

Missed Chances:

It’s simple, take your chances. Ireland worked the ball well, went through the phases without any notable difficulties and got themselves into a lot of promising positions, only to be let down by their decision making. A perfect example could be seen when Keith Earls broke through the Scotts defensive line, and when he should have passed to O’Driscoll for an easy run to the line, he opted to go himself and the chance was gone. The style of play was similar to Ireland’s first half performance against Wales in the first week of the 6 Nations. In Cardiff the buildup was quick, fluid and most importantly there were points on the scoreboard at the end of it. But today, the scoreboard didn’t reflect the performance.

Missed Kicks:

Declan Kidney’s decision to start Paddy Jackson was a big call, and a testament to the head coach’s faith in the 21 year old. With his direct of style and ability to break the defensive line, Jackson would hopefully bring another dynamic to the Irish attack. Despite this, there were concerns over the youngsters kicking ability, especially as Ireland’s highest ever point scorer Ronan O’Gara would be resigned to the bench. These questions proved to be valid as Jackson missed a number of penalty kicks and a conversion attempt during the match.

I don’t want to put the blame too much on Jackson as it was his first ever senior appearance and he did contribute to Ireland’s attacking play. Though with that said, he missed a number of kicks that ( had they gone over) would have resulted in a comfortable Ireland win.

Crowd Momentum:

At a stage where Scotland were within a kick away from going into the lead Rob Kearney made a mistake. Straight from the restart he opted to run at the Scottish defense rather than kick it, losing control of the ball deep in the Irish half.  The Scottish fans were just starting to get behind their team, and this is exactly what Ireland didn’t’ need. You can’t underestimate the influence a crowd can have on a team’s performance, and it showed as Scotland were notably lifted by the noise around Murrayfield. The home side went in front and from there Ireland never looked like regaining the lead.

England go top after historic win in Dublin

 Ireland 6 – England 12

England’s first win in Dublin for a decade saw them move top of the RBS Six Nations table as they beat Ireland 12-6.

Despite being the lowest scoring game since the Five Nations became the Six Nations in 2000, it was an intriguing contest that meant a lot to either team.

Both Ireland and England looked to capitalize on victories gained in the first week, and take a big step towards being Six Nations Champions.

England started the stronger as Ireland gave away a penalty in the 3^rd minute, allowing Owen Farrell to put his side 3-0 up.

In the early stages England looked comfortable as Ireland failed to amount any serious pressure, with knock-ons starting to become a regular occurrence.

Thing’s got even worse for Ireland as promising young winger Simon Zebo had to leave the field due to injury.

Despite some good possession from the Irish they couldn’t capitalize on promising positions after both Gordon D’A

rcy and Donnacha Ryan spilt the ball in contact.

England then went 6-0 up courtesy of another kick from Farrell after Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip was penalized for coming in from the side.

Though, this wasn’t to be the end of an already forgettable first half for Ireland.

They suffered another injury blow on 30 minutes as Jonathon Sexton looked to have pulled his hamstring, and was replace by Ronan O’Gara.

Farrell missed his first kick of the game, giving Ireland a much needed physiological boost, albeit a small one, going into the second half.

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Into the second half and O’Gara halved the deficit on 45 minutes as Ireland started the half with a higher intensity.

Thing’s were starting to look up for Ireland after James Haskell was sin binned for playing the ball on the ground, and from the resulting penalty kick, O’Gara drew Ireland level.

As the Irish fans finally found their voice and urged Ireland forward, two quick penalties allowed Farrell to restore England’s 6 point lead.

Ireland came forward looking to make their man advantage count but as had happened all game, their clumsy handling of the ball let them down.

O’Gara had a chance to keep Irish hopes alive late on, but he kicked wide and England held on to record an historic and important win.

England are now top of the table, with Ireland, Wales, Italy and Scotland all on 2 points. France are yet to gain a point in this years Six Nations and remain bottom.

Team performance

Ireland: With confidence gained from an impressive run up to the Six Nations and beating Wales the week before in Cardiff, Ireland looked good value to record another win in succession. However, old ghosts were back to haunt them as they continuously fumbled the ball in promising positions. Every time Ireland look to be making progress, a misplaced pass or split ball would halt their advances forward, and epitomize the saying ‘Two steps forward, one step back’.

England: England recorded an historic win against Ireland ending their Barron run in Dublin and they were good value for it too. A good solid defensive display allowed England to go through the phases without any need to penetrate Ireland’s defense. A good kicking display from Farrell meant England could rely on their defense to do a job and kick their way to victory. Though I’m sure they will want to get back to try scoring ways in their next fixture against France, who have been struggling so far in this tournament.

Ireland next fixture: vs Scotland (Away) Sunday 24^th February

England next fixture: vs France (Home) Saturday 23^rd February