Bright lights offer hope

Munster paraded the Heineken Cup through the streets of Cork City last night when more than 30,000 fans turned out to welcome their rugby heroes. At the same time Ireland were playing a one-sided game against The Barbarians.

While the Baa-baa’s match could be labelled a largely meaningless game, and the team facing Ireland lacked the cavalier skills to rightly carry off the illustrious team name, there are a number of positives that can be taken from the game. Most notably the continuing form of some young lights, which could show that the future of Irish rugby is not as bleak as many had expected.

For such a game, the choice of Luke Fitzgerald at centre allowed the young Leinster player to get his hands on the ball and demonstrate his undoubted talent. And now with two years of professional rugby under his belt, his confidence in both attack and defence bodes well for the Irish midfield in years to come. While he has the potential to be heir apparent to his cousin, Brian O’Driscoll, centre might not be the position to unleash his pace, step and aggression.

While full-back may provide another outlet for Fitzgerald’s talents, there is quite a queue building up to take over from Girvan Dempsey. Geordan Murphy still has a year or two, but the emergence of Rob Kearney during the Six Nations and the more recent form of Munster’s Denis Hurley have provided, initially Michael Bradley and then Declan Kidney with a bit of a selection conundrum.

Another area of over-supply is in the back-row. Jamie Heaslip, for one, again demonstrated his excellent footballing ability and with the Munster back-row joining up with the squad in the next 48 hours, Bradley will again have some tough decisions to make down under. The enthusiasm of the squad will come as welcome relief to all following the dismal World Cup and Six Nations endured in the last year.

Indeed Ireland’s ‘blip’ lasted a bit more than the IRFU and the rugby supporting public expected, and O’Sullivan, correctly, paid for the blip with his job. But he did not leave the squad in good shape, mentally or physically.

However, following Munster and Leinster’s wins in the Heineken Cup and Magners League respectively, and the continued emergence of a group of bright young prospects, the squad Kidney inherits might not be in as bad a shape as expected.

Munster abu!

It has been a long road for Munster rugby. They have knocked on the door a number of times, but they have finally been allowed to take their rightful place at the top table of European Rugby.

Having learnt how to win in 2006, the pressure was not the same going into Saturday’s final.

Previously, I said that if Tomas O’Leary started Toulouse would win. I was wrong (obviously), and while the service to Ronan O’Gara was not as slick as the outhalf is accustomed to, O’Leary marshalled his pack well and remained calm under pressure when clearing his lines on a number of important occasions. And he cannot be to blame for the Toulouse try, despite it being he who kicked the ball into touch.

Having soaked up so much Munster pressure and scored a try while captain Fabian Pelous was in the sin-bin, many would have expected the French team to step it up another gear and put increased pressure on the Munster line. But it wasn’t to be.

While many a Munster fan would not have been so positive after the first 20 minutes of the game, having endured a ferocious Toulouse onslaught and only down three points, a lot of heart was taken from it.

The French side would not have been happy with such a small lead from three attempted drops at goal. Not a good return on investment.

It was a game for the purists, while it ebbed and flowed, the final 20 minutes of warfare were the most intense this Heineken Cup Final has ever seen. The manner in which the Munster pack doggedly attacked the fringes time and again was a joy to behold. Not once did you see a player in navy lie prostrate waiting for the next play. Immediately back on their feet, ready to go over the top once more. Twice they gave away penalties. Twice they quickly retrieved possession from Toulouse with some almighty line-out and midfield defence. Where the strength was found to physically rip the ball from the French players is anyone’s guess. A 16th player always welcome and boy did the supporters play their part.

But to hold possession for the guts of 15 minutes at the end of such a battle truly showed this team’s physical and mental mettle. Quite how Alan Quinlan has been overlooked for selection on the Irish team is anyone’s guess.

So Declan Kidney leaves Munster a much happier man than his last exit in 2002 after the loss to Leicester Tigers. And he can attack his new Irish role with a renewed vigour, and as one of Europe’s most successful coaches.

Kidney takes top spot

So the IRFU have finally made a decision, the best one from both a PR and a sporting perspective, to make Declan Kidney the new Irish head coach.

The process to find a replacement for Eddie O'Sullivan had become increasingly drawn out, not quite on an FAI scale, but nonetheless increasingly tedious. Calls were made for updates to be provided from Lansdowne Road, but none were forthcoming.

In defense of the FAI, at least they provided information to the media about the process as it became increasingly protracted. In contrast the IRFU circled the wagons, much like the reporting of the Genesis Report, for fear that any journalist may hear anything positive on the grapevine.

Kidney was always the best man for the job. Having coached at all levels, it was only right that he be allowed an opportunity to coach the top team. There have been dissenting voices about his possible promotion to the post but it is now the Cork man's job to silence his critics.

While it has been known for more than a week that all that remained for Kidney to do was sign the dotted line, it has come to fruition that a number of final issues need to be ironed out.

The IRFU must be commended for confirming his appointment, but equally Kidney must be commended for standing his ground and insisting he appoints his backroom staff. Having been an ill-made IRFU appointment under Eddie O'Sullivan, the Munster coach is only too aware of such pitfalls.

Kidney will not take charge of the Irish team until after the summer tour, thereby providing him with enough time to properly put his back-room team together. From an IRFU, a player and a Kidney perspective, this can only be taken as a positive for the four years ahead.

The Munster man is carefully putting his team together and it may take some time to bed in. We as supporters must allow Kidney and his team time to put their systems in place and not be too quick to judge. To do so would only be to the detriment of the team and the sport as a whole.