Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.
The Six Nations is upon us once more. The evenings are getting longer and our weekends are being mapped out for us. Good times. Emmet Moloney can’t wait for it...
Has it been a year already? Those glorious days in Croker and Cardiff are still fresh in the mind. O’Gara’s drop goal, Stephen Jones’s penalty falling short – surely it can’t be as tense this year? This Six Nations represents a new challenge for the Irish team. We travel to Paris and London for a start. And this year we are defending Grand Slam champions. Virgin territory for Ireland and tough terrain for Declan Kidney.
Last year, in his first season at the helm, Kidney played his usual blinder. He made brave calls and never once made a change for the sake of it. It paid off and he has bought himself plenty of brownie points. This year things might be a little different and we suspect that he might not have as many eggs in the Six Nations basket.
Things are a little more complicated this season due to the rugby calendar. He has to think about the summer tour to New Zealand, where it is time we beat the All Blacks, and the 2011 World Cup further down the road. Kidney has ticked the Grand Slam box on his CV, beating the All-Blacks might be next, followed by winning the World Cup. (He has won one before, by the way; his U-19s beating the best the Boks, All Blacks and French had to offer.)
Adding to the intrigue this year is our Six Nations draw, which is not Grand Slam-friendly. We have France and England away – within a fortnight of each other on weekends two and three.
First up, though, is Italy in Croke Park this Saturday. It’s a no-win game for us. We will beat them but the Italians are never pretty to watch, beat or endure. It could be ugly but, come the end of the first round of games, we will have played one, won one. Alas, the draw means we will learn little from the Italians and the big advantage that is having your first game at home is slightly negated by drawing the weakest link. Teams like Scotland and England will improve as the championship progresses. We don’t have the Scots till down the road; the Auld Enemy we face in Twickenham on 27 February. France in Paris on Saturday week is the real tall order.
Maybe this year we will win our home games and have a good chance of beating England. France may be a step too far. A Triple Crown is a distinct possibility but a repeat Slam? Probably not.
So what will Kidney want to achieve? First of all, he will be trying to win the Slam. You have to play this tournament as a once off, so there won’t be any talk of looking down the road. Not outwardly anyway. He will use most of his squad. O’Gara and Sexton should both see starting time. The latter’s dead leg saved Declan Kidney from having to make a call between the two for the match against Italy.
The loss of Denis Leamy and injury to Stephen Ferris has opened the door for Leinster’s Kevin McLaughlin to win his first cap, giving a back row of McLaughlin, David Wallace and Jamie Heaslip. If, like me, you enjoy the odd flutter, then Heaslip for first try and man of the match will be a good bet in most of Ireland’s games this spring. He is going to have a huge year.
The second row picks itself. We could do with decent competition here but right now Donncha O’Callaghan and Paul O’Connell are streets ahead of the other contenders. If Ireland/Munster have a problem, it is in the scrum and front row. This is what the likes of Neil Francis, George Hook, Brent Pope and Gerry Thornley will be repeating ad nauseam leading up the start of the Six Nations. Those who know my physical size will know that I have very little experience of the front row, but conversations with former internationals lead me to believe that very few people actually know what goes on in there!
What we do know is that Ireland’s front row performs better with John Hayes and Jerry Flannery lining out. Cian Healy performed well in the loose in the November internationals and will be hoping to continue his progress. Marcus Horan isn’t far away though and will gain valuable match practice with the As on Friday night. I expect he’ll regain his place for the second match.
Prop forwards are about far more than just the scrum. John Hayes is widely recognised as the best line-out lifter in the world and his technique has helped to make Paul O’Connell the best second row in rugby. The Bull will play as long as he is able. Behind the scrum has given us a slight surprise selection in the form of a resurgent Andrew Trimble. Without Luke Fitzgerald, Keith Earls was probably favourite to land the No 11 shirt but Trimble’s sparkling form for Ulster means Earls has to settle for a place on the bench. Gordon D’Arcy gets the nod at inside centre, which is hardly a shock given his recent displays.
It goes without saying that Declan Kidney knows what he is doing. So let’s trust his instincts. He will be looking down the road, across the road and around the corner. Let’s ignore the hype that will follow his selection decisions. Trust him.
We always struggle in the years we have England and France away. Having them in succession could play havoc. Wales have a score to settle with us and only Scotland and Italy look like sacrificial lambs. So, one win from the tricky away ties would be an achievement, while winning our home games guarantees we stay near the top. Either way, no-one will beat us easily. We are in the top four in the world now and we deserve to be. We will play like it.
Expect open, exciting rugby. Expect us to score more tries than anyone else. Expect Brian O’Driscoll to be Brian O’Driscoll. Expect Declan Kidney to be as cute as ever. Expect another roller coaster. C’mon Ireland.
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