Conservative Kidney springs a surprise

[Feicarsinn]

Last night Declan Kidney named his side to take on the All Blacks on Saturday, and I imagine I wasn't the only person needing to take a second glance at the team sheet. To say the starting line-up has a surprising look to it is an understatement; it's practically revolutionary given the circumstances.

So what's the big news anyway? For those who haven't seen the team, Kidney has given debuts to both Simon Zebo and Declan Fitzpatrick, is trying Keith Earls out in the unfamiliar position of inside centre and has made a number of other calls that, while they are perhaps less of a surprise given form and injury, are still unexpected. From a man who's earned himself a reputation as possibly the most conservative coach in world rugby (Santiago Phelan would no doubt have a say too), this is a bit of a sea change in terms of selection policy.

The average Irish fan will be pleased by the fact that our head coach is willing to experiment at all (I'm certainly of this opinion at least), but it's worth having a look at the personnel that are coming into the side. In the back three Kidney has opted for a combination of Rob Kearney at full back, fellow Leinsterman Fergus McFadden on the right wing and Munster debutant Simon Zebo on the left. We all know was Kearney is capable of, but this will be a good test of where the two wings are at in terms of their development. McFadden has taken a long time to grow into the player he is now. He's benefitted from the tutelage of Joe Schmidt at Leinster and his game has come on remarkably from where it was two years ago. Possessing a good boot, a lot of pace and a decent distributive game, he should be solid if not spectacular on Saturday. As mentioned, Simon Zebo also comes into the team for the 1st​ test. Zebo came to international attention after scoring a hat-trick against Northampton in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup and a number of eye-catching performances since then have managed to get him on the plane this summer. His selection is not without controversy, many believe that Ulster flier Craig Gilroy is a more complete player and more deserving of a spot in the team. Talk of Munster bias inevitably surrounds the selection, but whatever the reason, Zebo's raw pace will be a threat in attack, while his defensive game should be heavily scrutinised by the hosts, should they have done their homework.

In the centre a combination of Keith Earls and Brian O'Driscoll has been selected. On paper it seems that O'Driscoll will be at 13 and Earls at 12, but expect this to be subject to change during the course of the game. This pairing has been seen before in last year in a few 6 Nations games, with somewhat mixed results. Earls' performances in this year's tournament indicate that he has grown into a more capable centre defensively; however his passing game still leaves a lot to be desired. This series will perhaps give a definitive answer to the question of whether he is a viable option in the midfield for Ireland.

We can also expect to see Darren Cave introduced into the centres at some point. Cave is a player I have an awful lot of time for and to me is Ireland's best young centre. A player in the mould of Conrad Smith, he is perhaps lacking a yard of pace that would make him a truly top class operator, but his performance in the Heineken Cup final was more than enough to show that he's ready to make the step up to international rugby. Whether the game is still a contest by the time he comes on is a touchy subject, but hopefully Cave can convince Irish management that he should be starting in the midfield in future tests.

The half back pairing was predictable, if not a little disappointing. On current form, Eoin Reddan is certainly the best scrum half in the country. His quicker pass and sharp instincts are assets to a very successful Leinster side and should be for his country. However, Conor Murray gets the nod at 9, meaning that Johnny Sexton can expect slightly slower ball from the base of the ruck.
The backrow named is what most people would have predicted based on the 6 nations. Sean O'Brien will no doubt relish the chance to play at 6 again for Ireland while this series represents a huge opportunity for Peter O'Mahony to really stake a claim for that 7 jersey. The inclusion of Kevin McLaughlin over Chris Henry on the bench comes as something of a surprise, but having the option to play an all Leinster back row should lend itself to a greater level of familiarity and hopefully, a better performance from the 3 guys involved. McLaughlin's lineout skills could also come in handy, should the Irish set piece struggle without Paul O'Connell.

Finishing off the team sheet are the tight five of Cian Healy, Rory Best, Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy and Donnacha Ryan. The front row situation has been done to death, so I won't bother going into it here, but that second row combination has me delighted. Both Ryan and Tuohy find themselves in fine form going into this tour and with both being fairly destructive in the loose, should be something of a handful for a new look All Black defensive unit. I would however question the inclusion of Donncha O'Callaghan over Devin Toner on the bench. With neither of our starting locks being their province's primary lineout jumpers, the 6'10 monster would have been the logical choice for the bench, being able to shore up the lineout instantly. Such has been the decline of O'Callaghan's powers since the 2009 Lions tour however, it's tough to see what he can contribute to this side.

In summation, there's a lot to be happy about with regard to this Irish side. There are still some unpalatable selections, but I guess in this situation you just have to take the bad with the good. Do I think we can beat the All Blacks? No. Do I think we could have beaten the All Blacks with all hands on deck? Eh, no. So with that in mind, let's take the most we can out of this series and see just how good the like of Zebo, O'Mahony, Fitzpatrick and co. can be.

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[big ginger 8]

Good right up for a relatively short time period.

 

[coonor]

Great blog! I think it's refreshing to see Kidney actually make some calls based on form and experiment. Like I said previously I can't remember the last time an Ireland pack took to the field with no player aged 30 or above selected. If the forwards can even hold their own given the circumstances I would be more than happy. The backs are something of an enigma, all very capable players with great attacking threat but as a backline it seems disjointed.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Great blog! I think it's refreshing to see Kidney actually make some calls based on form and experiment. Like I said previously I can't remember the last time an Ireland pack took to the field with no player aged 30 or above selected. If the forwards can even hold their own given the circumstances I would be more than happy. The backs are something of an enigma, all very capable players with great attacking threat but as a backline it seems disjointed.

Yeah, I can see what you're saying there. Murray's delivery isn't as quick as Reddan's, O'Driscoll has very little international experience at 12 (although I wouldn't worry about him too much), Earls has yet to convince as an international 13, Zebo is on his debut, and McFadden doesn't have all that much international experience and some of that has been in the centre. There could be a serious lack of cohesion for the first test.

Just to make a slight correction to the blog, O'Brien will be at 7 and O'Mahony at 6. I guess Seanie's showings in the Heineken Cup knock out stages were enough to convince management that he has a future there.

 

[psychic duck]

McFadden on the wing and Earls at centre is a strange one

most would seem to agree McFadden is a natural centre, and Earls a better winger

don't know how Loughney made it onto the bench either, true he plays both sides but does poorly, at least Court is okay at 1, if Loughney gets a cap he could join the list of worst players to play for Ireland over the past decade

I was shocked not to see D'Arcy and O'Callaghan in a Kidney team, I don't know why he didn't just do that in the 6 Nations though

 

[big ginger 8]

McFadden on the wing and Earls at centre is a strange one

most would seem to agree McFadden is a natural centre, and Earls a better winger

don't know how Loughney made it onto the bench either, true he plays both sides but does poorly, at least Court is okay at 1, if Loughney gets a cap he could join the list of worst players to play for Ireland over the past decade

I was shocked not to see D'Arcy and O'Callaghan in a Kidney team, I don't know why he didn't just do that in the 6 Nations though

I guess the sad fact is we don't really have any other choice apart from Loughney. Court's injured so it's him or Archer and Loughney is slightly less useless than him. There's no real point calling up anyone who will be good because at the moment they are not good enough and there's no point scarring them. I eagerly await the day Furlong is ready for test match rugby.

I think the reason Kidney didn't do any of this is ranking points (although some changes would probably have helped us) he knows that we are definitely good enough to beat the teams in the 6n and the general public expects us to win (except maybe France in Paris). Whereas in N.Z. no one expects us to win and the injuries provide a convenient excuse. Also losing to N.Z. in New Zealand doesn't make that much of a difference points wise.

 

[Feicarsinn]

McFadden on the wing and Earls at centre is a strange one

most would seem to agree McFadden is a natural centre, and Earls a better winger

don't know how Loughney made it onto the bench either, true he plays both sides but does poorly, at least Court is okay at 1, if Loughney gets a cap he could join the list of worst players to play for Ireland over the past decade

I was shocked not to see D'Arcy and O'Callaghan in a Kidney team, I don't know why he didn't just do that in the 6 Nations though

On the whole McFadden thing, I have no qualms with him on the wing. I've heard accounts that he's the fasted guy in the Leinster squad and has probably played his best rugby on the wing this season.

It looks like McFadden's versatility will stand him in good stead. He's probably not good enough to get into the 22/23 with everyone fit and ready were he just able to cover the wing, but being a good option in the centre and a decent goal kicker gives him a significant edge. It also paves the way for Ian Madigan to come into the squad.

 

[osullie6]

Enjoyed the blog.

I think the most positive thing with this selection is that it shows a change of mindset, hopefully it'll be continued into the future.

I'm going to reserve judgement though until I see how Ireland play on Saturday. I think it's very difficult to judge the selection properly until we see if the Irish gameplan has changed. If we continue trying to play a conservative kicking game we're going to get slaughtered (not that that might not happen anyway). We'll be gifting possession to one of the best running rugby teams in the world, who aren't going to give the ball back easily.

I might be reading too much into the selection but I think it's fairly obvious that the Irish backline wasn't selected with defensive abilities primarily in mind. For that reason I think Ireland might try a more running/attacking gameplan than they have done recently, which would be nice as I think it's what they have to do to develop and also that it means there's a better chance of getting the best out of Sexton.