Dawning Of A New Era
04/11/08 22:21 Filed in: Sport
Declan Kidney
named the starting 15 and replacements
today for
his first game in charge of the Irish team. They
take on Canada at Thomond Park on Saturday, in the
first of three matches in the Guinness
International Series.
The big news is the start for Munster full-back Keith Earls, making his Irish debut in the No 15 shirt. This is a richly deserved start for Keith, as he has been outstanding for the European Champions so far this season. Confident under the high ball, incisive in his running and blessed with a fine kicking game, he has great potential both in the red shirt of Munster and the green of Ireland.
Earls
is joined in the back line by Leinster youngsters
Luke FitzGerald and Rob Kearney, both of whom were
bright lights in an otherwise gloomy Six Nations 2008
campaign. Brian O'Driscoll retains the captaincy and
partners his Leinster team-mate FitzGerald in the
centre, while The Ospreys' Tommy Bowe starts on the
opposite wing to Kearney.
ROG is at 10 as normal, understudied by Ulster's Paddy Wallace, while Eoin Reddan continues his stint as first choice scrum half, with back up from Peter Stringer.
In the forwards, Tony Buckley starts in the front row alongside his Munster colleagues Jerry Flannery and Marcus Horan. It's good to see Buckley get the start, as Ireland have to start preparing for the eventual retirement of the great John Hayes, who's on the bench. Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell make up an all-Munster tight five. The starting back row is remarkably Munsterless, and it must be the first time in years that an Irish starting XV hasn't had at least one Munster player at 6,7 or 8. Fear not, as David Wallace and Alan Quinlan will be prowling the touchline, ready to come on and cause mayhem to the Canadians if need be. Ulster's Stephen Ferris is at 6, and Leinster duo Shane Jennings and Jamie Heaslip are at 7 and 8 respectively.
In the subs, alongside those already mentioned above, are Ulstermen Rory Best and Ryan Caldwell, and veteran winger Shane Horgan.
This is a well-chosen team, with a good balance of youth and experience. Under a new coach (and also being one with a proven track record in actually winning things that matter), the players should be well up for it. What I hope to see is an efficient performance from Ireland, with good set pieces and discipline, and minimum handling errors. How many times in the last fourteen months have we seen promising passages of play lost because of a knock-on, or a crooked throw, or a touch-finder missed, or a stupid penalty conceded?
This is a new start for the Irish rugby team, and one that hopefully will bring tangible results. Triple Crowns are all well and good, but Irish rugby supporters deserve more. We need to win the Six Nations, preferably with a Grand Slam, and we need to start putting to rights our completely one-sided record against the All Blacks.
The future starts here!
The big news is the start for Munster full-back Keith Earls, making his Irish debut in the No 15 shirt. This is a richly deserved start for Keith, as he has been outstanding for the European Champions so far this season. Confident under the high ball, incisive in his running and blessed with a fine kicking game, he has great potential both in the red shirt of Munster and the green of Ireland.
ROG is at 10 as normal, understudied by Ulster's Paddy Wallace, while Eoin Reddan continues his stint as first choice scrum half, with back up from Peter Stringer.
In the forwards, Tony Buckley starts in the front row alongside his Munster colleagues Jerry Flannery and Marcus Horan. It's good to see Buckley get the start, as Ireland have to start preparing for the eventual retirement of the great John Hayes, who's on the bench. Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell make up an all-Munster tight five. The starting back row is remarkably Munsterless, and it must be the first time in years that an Irish starting XV hasn't had at least one Munster player at 6,7 or 8. Fear not, as David Wallace and Alan Quinlan will be prowling the touchline, ready to come on and cause mayhem to the Canadians if need be. Ulster's Stephen Ferris is at 6, and Leinster duo Shane Jennings and Jamie Heaslip are at 7 and 8 respectively.
In the subs, alongside those already mentioned above, are Ulstermen Rory Best and Ryan Caldwell, and veteran winger Shane Horgan.
This is a well-chosen team, with a good balance of youth and experience. Under a new coach (and also being one with a proven track record in actually winning things that matter), the players should be well up for it. What I hope to see is an efficient performance from Ireland, with good set pieces and discipline, and minimum handling errors. How many times in the last fourteen months have we seen promising passages of play lost because of a knock-on, or a crooked throw, or a touch-finder missed, or a stupid penalty conceded?
This is a new start for the Irish rugby team, and one that hopefully will bring tangible results. Triple Crowns are all well and good, but Irish rugby supporters deserve more. We need to win the Six Nations, preferably with a Grand Slam, and we need to start putting to rights our completely one-sided record against the All Blacks.
The future starts here!