It’s not just about Declan Kidney, it’s about the overall Irish rugby experience, writes Kate McEvoy…
This weekend I went to Edinburgh on my first 6 Nations away trip. I had a whale of a time, the highlight of which was watching a team in green courageously carry out an appropriate game-plan with solid set pieces and prodigious skill right across the park. It was a privilege to watch the Irish Women's rugby team win their first Triple Crown and to relish in the commitment on the pitch and the unbridled joy on display after the final whistle blew. In lean times for Irish rugby supporters, their hard work & skill is even more appreciated and after years of graft, they deserve all they've achieved and more.
As a rugby supporter who regularly attends matches at a variety of levels – club, provincial and national - as well as a mouthy feminist, I'm ashamed I never previously attended one of the women's games. Wait, that's a lie. As I type this I realize aged 11 I dragged my Dad & sisters to see our then PE teacher captain the team at a fixture in Wanderers. The opposition and any further details are lost in deep recesses of my brain (there's only so much room in there between West Wing quotes and worrying about most conceivable situations). However, it's safe to say my contribution as a supporter of the women's game echo my contribution as a tag rugby player – minimal at best. At least I turn up at the latter, although perhaps it would be better for all concerned if I didn't.
In general, the weekend got me thinking about contributions to rugby. Brian O'Driscoll and Sean O'Brien made massive contributions this weekend, which is all the harder to do when your team is imploding around you. Ronan O'Gara and Declan Kidney have made massive contributions to Irish rugby but that doesn't give you carte blanche to stick around indefinitely. It's time for both to go, mainly because the contribution now is not as great as that which they offered in the past and is frequently being found wanting. Sport's ruthless in that way. You get found out when your contribution doesn't measure up. It's right there on the pitch for all to see. It may take a little longer sometimes but the hair holding up the sword of Damocles over our highest point scorer and highest achieving coach is fraying at a rapid rate and it looks to finally be irreparable.
There seems to be a school of thought that once the Kidney Clock ticks to zero, Sauron will be vanquished and Middle Earth will be restored. There seems to be little by way of recognizable tactics on display at many recent Irish fixtures. I refuse to accept that popping the ball to solo runners coming from static positions deserves to be called a tactic. Obviously the contribution of the coaching ticket is currently lacking. However, here's the unpopular part of my point. On Sunday I saw a team who were stuck in mud of their own creation. It's easy (and apparently for some, entertaining) to lay the blame solely at Kidney's door for the current morass Irish rugby is in. I think the players need to shoulder some of burden for the quality of rugby that's being played by our senior national side.
I'm not interested in picking out individual blunders from Sunday. Better analysts than I have done that, or in some cases conspicuously failed to do so, but I trust you are smart enough to distinguish between the two. Also, you have eyes and are an immensely discerning rugby spectator with a keen analytical mind. I can tell from here. Wrong decisions were made out on the grass as well as in the coaching box. The players need to take a long hard look at their individual contributions on Sunday & throughout the campaign. Now Ireland's most capped second row, Donancha O'Callaghan spoke movingly on the topic. I think it's worth checking out here
For starters, I respect people taking individual responsibility for their actions in any field. But secondly I think anyone assuming that getting rid of Kidney is the golden ticket is in for a rude awakening. A new broom and assorted dustpans will help but the players are at a pretty low ebb. I don't think recovery will happen overnight. The Welsh game was great, the Argentinian fixture enjoyable but overhyped. However we have consistently failed to string consecutive performances and have now thrown away to on the bounce, the latter against a decidedly weaker opposition. The players have a case to answer too.
However those players will clearly look at how their contributions were lacking and desperately strive to rectify any inadequacies, or at least that's how it appears to me. This doesn't seem to be a situation à la les Rosbifs at the RWC with the leaked report claiming players were “more interested in cash and caps". Much like Stuart Lancaster, a new coaching regime, the right coaching regime, can help with psychological as well as tactical issues. Neither of these things will happen overnight. Particularly without the co-operation of, to my mind, the biggest contributor to our current situation, the IRFU.
I discussed in an earlier article how the IRFU are doing little to contribute to the rugby experience of the average Irish fan on match days, how the stadium seems to revolve around people in the corporate boxes rather than the blocks. This feeling was driven home to me after my trip to Murrayfield. You're part of a slow and jovial army winding its way through the streets of Edinburgh. Upon arrival there are copious food stands, a brisk bar service & live Scottish music. For the anthems & pre-match preamble we had bands, a lone piper, flag bearers, fireworks, flame throwers and what appeared to be the modern equivalent of a cannon. At half-time we had a kicking competition and famous former players doing halftime analysis. There was probably more but at this point I had a horrible sinking feeling that comes with failure to convert dominant territory into a meaningful lead & possibly had my head in my hands.
The IRFU's contribution, or lack thereof, to the current situation is plural. As discussed on foot of the English game, there's a lackluster atmosphere in our home ground. The possible reasons for this are manifold but for my money the fact that in seldom feels like there's anything better at play than a hand going for your wallet is a surefire contributor. Of course being a supporter is a serious business to a degree and there's often ire directed at the “just here for a day out crowd” but, regardless of recent results, when did the whole experience get so joyless and, well, cheap?
Certainly not cheap for the spectator who has most likely jumped through distribution hoops and paid a not insignificant amount of money for the privilege of having their bum in a seat. Bells & whistles aren't a solution to poor performances on the field but they're a (and you see where I'm going with this) contribution. To the atmosphere and to the supporters who have schlepped their way to the stadium to shout on their team. I can't help but wonder what traveling fans think of the not so warm welcome the IRFU provides. Do they think we just can't be bothered? It's not only cheap, it's quite frankly a little rude.
My worries about the IRFU go further. Again, Declan Kidney is being held single-handedly responsible for all of Irish rugby's woes by some, while others, particularly in the media, are refusing to admit we have a large-scale problem on our hands. This holds us back from looking at the big picture. To the best of my understanding, we haven't had a full time attack or scrum coach in place for a considerable period. At top-level rugby, particularly at the level we aspire, we expect to compete at, that's lunacy. To those who believe Kidney has refused an improved coaching ticket I say firstly that's supposition and secondly, if that is true, Kidney is not the supreme overlord of the game in this country. It is the responsibility of the organization who appointed him to appoint an appropriate support staff. Obviously the coach has both a say and sway in this but Irish rugby is not his autocracy. So either you're not giving the head coach what he asks for or not giving the team what they need. Neither are acceptable.
Many factors contribute to the crossroads we now find ourselves at but it's time for a combination of reflection and action from our players, our coaching staff and our governing body. There isn't a magic solution, a stunning coup de grâce which once administered will instantly bring all that is right and good to the surface. It's time to look at various contributions to see what measures up and implement serious changes where they do not. Should anyone like to join me, I'll be in Ashbourne on March 8th cheering on a team in green that don't shirk to put in theirs. I have every confidence the men's team will strive to do the same. I'm less confident about the other two parts of the trifecta.
Kate McEvoy : Munster fan in a sea of Leinster blue. Raised on a strict diet of Bective Rangers. Earliest childhood memory is stud marks in the muck. Former hooker for a father & a mother with an eye for a forward pass bordering on freakish . Often to be found down Monkstown RFC/ A & E on account of the exploits of the better half. Best rugby memory, Toulouse main square, May 24th 2008. Epitaph will read “Knew a lot about rugby for a girl.” Can be found tweeting optimistically at @ImKateMc
