Time Up For Declan Kidney?

Ireland’s loss to Scotland at Murrayfield has heaped yet more pressure on Ireland head coach Declan Kidney. The knives were being sharpened long before the 12-8 reversal in the Scottish capital, but calls for his head will be louder now than ever.

Losing a game with 80% possession is, of course, criminal. The blame however rests firmly at the players’ doorstep, not the coach’s. Poor execution, insipid leadership, blinkered decision making and inaccurate goal kicking were the architects of Ireland’s demise, not the guy sitting in the stand.

Many have called for the ‘ultra-conservative’ Kidney to ditch his so-called ‘favourites’ and to give the youngsters a chance. It seems an oddly held opinion of Kidney in the first place. If Peter Stringer and Shaun Payne ever viewed their former coach in such light one would imagine they felt differently sitting on the bench in Kingsholm in 2008.

Tomás O’ Leary (ironically the beneficiary of Stringer’s demotion) and Luke Fitzgerald too might testify to Kidney’s ability to abandon high-profile players in favour of less illustrious replacements.

Either way the mud stuck. When the Irish coach announced his selection last week it was greeted with disbelief. Big calls at 1, 10 and 12 defied the perceived wisdom. He had given the naysayers their wish and when it backfired they used it as a stick to beat him with.

Firstly the out-half situation always had a ‘no-win’ feel about it. Had O’ Gara not performed poorly in the England game and then abysmally for Munster against Scarlets last week there would have been no call to be made; an away Six Nations game, against a team on a high and with confidence ebbing from your own camp the experience of O’ Gara was a no-brainer. As it turned out O’ Gara played himself out of the team to the extent that he simply couldn’t be picked.

Paddy Jackson, despite the comfort of Ruan Pienaar and a largely dominant pack in Ulster, has still managed to underwhelm in recent months. He does however offer the next most experienced alternative at Heineken Cup level. Ultimately this earned Jackson the starting berth at the expense of an inexperienced Ian Keatley and Ian Madigan who, although undoubtedly talented, is not a regular out-half in the big games for his province. Keatley and Madigan’s inability to oust their respective province’s number one out-half and make a strong case for inclusion in the national squad is their own fault, not Kidney's.

Tom Court has been one of the outstanding loose-heads in Europe this year; formidable at scrum time and impressive in the loose. Dave Kilcoyne’s progression has been a joy to watch this season but Court deserved his chance. Unfortunately like his Ulster teammate at number ten Court struggled to grasp that opportunity on the pitch. Luke Marshall, the third of the Ulster trio, was the most impressive in this regard. Positive in attack and solid in defence his performance underlined his growing stature in the game.

It was a match Ireland should have won, but endeavoured to leave behind them. Court and Ross were both shown up in the scrum at times. Rory Best’s missed line-out throws did little for the cause. O’ Driscoll and Earls were both guilty of not giving a pass when required and Rob Kearney continued his frustrating preference to go through rather than over or around opposition players when counter-attacking. All have to shoulder some of the blame. So too do Seán O Brien, Dave Kilcoyne and Jamie Heaslip for giving away the penalties that ultimately handed the Scots the initiative and the victory.

If there’s one decision Kidney must be held to account for it’s his decision to install Heaslip as captain. So far it has proven to be a very poor call. Heaslip has not only continued to produce below par performances in a green jersey, he has appeared a reluctant leader and a suspect decision-maker. Had Jackson been allowed to take the relatively easy opportunity to kick three points early in the contest perhaps confidence would have gone some way to easing the kicking woes that have been evident in his game. The call to go to the corner was brave and at times, as in the final minutes, is absolutely correct. Early on in an away Six Nations game with a debutant out-half and the score-line level is, however, not the time. Jackson’s captain did him no favours. If O’ Driscoll was to be removed from the post  Rory Best was the obvious choice to lead the side. The decision has to count as a mark against the Irish coach.

The responsibility for this loss however does not rest on Declan Kidney’s shoulders, rather stems from his player’s inability to reach the levels of execution required at international level. His players failed him, not the other way around.