THE IRELAND Team to play England at Twickenham on St. Patrick’s Day in the final game of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations Championship was named this week.
There is one change to the starting XV which took the field last weekend with Sean O’Brien returning, having recovered from the skin infection which ruled him out of that game. Peter O’Mahony moves to the replacements.
Keith Earls and Cian Healy will both win their 30th caps on Saturday while Donncha O’Callaghan joins Paul O’Connell on 85.
Ireland Captain Rory Best will become Ireland’s most capped hooker on his 59th appearance on Saturday.
The paragraph second above this seems to epitomise Irish rugby. Donncha O’Callaghan will make his 85th appearance for Ireland. Donncha Ryan, who this week signed a contract to stay on with Munster until the 2013/14 season, will make his 18th appearance. Ryan, man of the match last weekend against Scotland, will be 29 this December.
The fact that Ryan is only making his breakthrough now, is almost a test case of how Irish rugby delays the development of Irish players.
Take the one change for example. Sean O’Brien returns at seven. This is a case of putting a guy back in because he was there in the first place.
If Kidney was to look at the performance of O’Mahony last week, from a player development point of view, he would find space for him this week alongside, O’Brien and future Ireland captain, Stephen Ferris in the backrow.
It is a cliché these days to say “that it is harder to get out of the Ireland team than it is to get into it”.
Messrs D’Arcy, Heaslip and O’Callaghan have all racked up caps due to there being no real replacement in the frame. This is not due to the lack of talent. That is there. It is due to the lack of use of that talent.
(See the careers progression of Dave Foley, Ian Nagle, Billy Holland etc.)
Kidney is now building a team for a tour to New Zealand. O’Connell, O’Driscoll and co will go, as they need game time. The same squad will be kept, in the majority, en mass for the crucial autumn internationals.
When are the new players going to get their chance? The IRFU claim that player burn out is a reason for not entering the Churchill Cup, however, when you only use the bare 30 players in a Six Nations, what are the others doing? Just fulfilling Pro 12 games, or worse, A games?
The All Blacks were able to win the World Cup with their fourth choice out half. Do we even have four outhalves? Time to pick on form and not caps.
Ireland might just lose to England this weekend and rue once more a lost championship. Change the record.
