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Declan Kidney: The heart of Irish Rugby

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Cormac O'Keeffe takes a closer look at the man whose job is to turn around the fortunes of the Irish Rugby Union team.

A fortnight before clinching his second Heineken Cup triumph with Munster, Declan Kidney was chosen by the powers that be in the IRFU to succeed the exciting, if somewhat latterly turbulent tenure, of Eddie O' Sullivan. He is charged with reviving the fortunes of an Irish team that has slipped from the lofty heights of number two in the world rankings to a lowly eight. His contract will bring him at least to the World Cup in 2011 where it is hoped that he will fare better than his predecessor who, although faced with the toughest group in the history of the competition, failed to unite the camp and made some puzzling selection decisions.

Achievements to date

As a player Kidney had a modest career, excelling at schools (PBC Cork) and club level (Dolphin and UCC) but never making it to international level. However, it was as a coach that he showed more stunning potential. He returned to PBC as a coach and guided them to five junior cup wins in six years in the 1980s and three consecutive senior titles in the 1990s.

This is not Kidney's first foray into international management, albeit at a much higher level. He led the Ireland Schools team to Triple Crown success in 1993 and then coached the under 19's team that won the world cup in 1998 before joining Munster where he was part of some of the greatest moments in Irish sport. After twice falling agonisingly short in the Heineken Cup (2000 and 2002) Kidney guided his men to remarkable victories in 2006 and 2008.

Kidney had a watching brief of Ireland's end-of-season tour of the Antipodes and must have been encouraged by two gutsy and polished displays where fatigue after am exhausting season prevented Ireland from historic victories against the All Blacks and Wallabies.

Kidney is a very quiet and reserved man but his strength lies in his tactical awareness and the immense respect that his players have for him. The former teacher should be able to re-unite an Irish camp that was rumoured to have been split down the middle during the recent world cup.

It is great that Kidney is getting his chance at the premier job in Irish rugby after an unsuccessful stint as Ireland's assistant coach to Eddie O' Sullivan in 2002. In contrast to Kidney, O' Sullivan was a control freak and Kidney was effectively frozen out. One of the main qualities of Kidney is that he is not afraid to delegate to specialist coaches and he has assembled an impressive backroom team.

Backroom team

Former Springbok flanker Gert Smal takes over as forwards coach and brings a wealth of experience to the table. He was assistant to Jake White in leading South Africa to glory in the World Cup in France last year as well as the Tri Nations in 2004. He has also won two Currie Cups as a coach and coached the Stormers in Super 12. Former Munster coach Alan Gaffney, who showed his worth by guiding unfancied Saracens to the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup last year where they ironically almost beat Munster, will perform the dual role of Ireland and Leinster backs coach while ex-Bristol fly-half Mark Tainton returns as kicking coach.

Six Nations 2009

Ireland are currently trading between 5.7 and 5.9 on Betfair and this represents great value as the team enter this year's competition with the disastrous world cup campaign a distant memory and spurred on by the boost of a new coach, two good performances down under, and the respective triumphs for Munster and Leinster in the Heineken Cup and Magner's League. It will be a tough ask to go from Ireland's worst ever Six Nations campaign to the best ever but if Kidney can get the best out of a talented squad then Ireland have a great chance, especially since this is one of the years where they play France and England at home

Ireland have some exciting talent emerging with players such as Keith Earls, Denis Hurley, and Frank Murphy performing well in the Churchill Cup in June and the most exciting prospect in Irish rugby since Brian O' Driscoll - Rob Kearney. Kearney put in two eye-catching performances in the world cup and I expect him to thrive under the wing of the man who nurtured the talents of the likes of O' Gara and Stringer and develop into a truly world class player over the course of the Six Nations campaign and will be a cracking outside bet for player of the tournament.

The new era of Irish rugby gets underway in earnest with November fixtures against Canada, New Zealand, and arch-rivals Argentina. The Six Nations kicks off on February 5th with Ireland taking on the French at Croke Park, followed by a trip to Rome, a renewal of the historic hosting of England at Croke park, and concluded by trips to Murrayfield and Cardiff. As in all recent years a nation expects - only time will tell whether Kidney can work the oracle with Ireland as he has done so on so many occasions with Munster.