What is Rugby?

While it may be a premature to usher in the dawn of a new era in Irish rugby, one cannot help but think Ireland, based on their performance thus far, are going to win their first 6 Nations tournament since 1985 and complete their first Grand Slam since 1948. After a dissapointing RWC 2007 campaign where Ireland were slotted to make at least a semi-final appearance and in some circles even a final appearance and an even more dissapointing 2008 6 Nations appearance, it was believed Ireland were in a decline and the so called “golden age” of Irish rugby would never come to fruition. Ireland had failed to even make a quarterfinal appearance in the RWC 2007 and finished 4th in the 2008 6 Nations. The brand of Irish rugby I’ve been watching of late looks to me like a whole new team. Considering the fact that Ireland has the same general pool of players it did with Eddie O’Sullivan under the helm, was O’Sullivan the one holding the team back? I intially thought that O’SUllivan was being used a scape goat for a group of players who were simply not as good as they were thought to be. I have since changed my position on the matter given all that has transpired since his exit.

One of the many complaints about O’Sullivan over the years was that he stuck with the same players for every test match, choosing his “favourites” as many claimed over new, up-and-coming talent. Some even questioned O’Sullivan for perhaps holding grudges against certain players. O’Sullivan always seemed to select a very safe group of players, that is players who had proven they can play up to the standard of test rugby, but only at the minimum standard. Declan Kidney has shown that he’s not afraid to take gambles on his selections and has all but ignored reputations and past selections as criteria for being selected. Maybe Kidney has a better eye for talent, afterall it was then manager Warren Gatland, not Eddie O’Sullivan who is often credited with discovering Brian O’Driscoll. Perhaps Kidney has been able to use his wealth of experience coaching Munster as a means to evaluate talent in terms of who’s ready and who is not. Ronan O’Gara, Ireland’s starting fly half once said, “getting O’Sullivan to truly have faith in him was a major problem.” I think O’Sullivan over the years showed a lack of faith in all of his players. I never got the impression from him that he believed his team could acheive great things.

I’ve never liked the notion of blaming a team manager for a teams lack of success. It’s like they say though, you can’t fire the players so you fire the manager. In the case of Irish rugby, the manager to me was clearly the one to blame. Kidney has restoked the flames under the Irish arses, setting them off on a pace that has all signs pointing to a 6 Nations triumph accompanied by a Grand Slam. Kidney in a short period of time has gained the confidence of his players and has them believing that they can acheive the heights once set upon them before the RWC 2007. Ireland have continued to climb the IRB world rankings, leaving other poweful rugby nations such as England and France behind. Perhaps we are on the cusp of a new golden age of Irish rugby?

I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie O’Sullivan last summer who was in town to hold a training session with my club. I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Eddie as I am an avid Ireland supporter and was full of questions for him. My general impression of him was that he was this very somber, emotionless character who didn’t seem to have any fire behind him. He was very confident in what he was saying, but there was always a feeling of complacnecy behind his answers. When I tried to ask him about certain up and coming players he dismissed them immediately and said the team you saw playing in the RWC and 6 Nations are the teams that belong out there, “that’s the best team to win”.

When I brought up the Southern Hemisphere powerhouses of rugby he all but suggested that they are in a different league of rugby and to even attempt to compete with them was a lost endeavor. While I agree the Southern Hemisphere nations are in a league of their own at the moment, was this the message he was sending his players? The talent was always there for Ireland, that I have no doubts about. But after all that’s transpired since O’Sullivan’s exit and after my own personal meeting with him, I believe O’Sullivan held this team back from acheiving glory beyond a few Triple Crowns and big test victories. That being said, I think Ireland is on their way to acheive great things and to finally fulfill the expectations that everyone put on this team.