As former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern once observed, "it's all smoke and daggers". He could have been referring to the Ireland team selection, spanning the opening game of the 2013 Six Nations Championship under former coach Declan Kidney, through the Corkman's final game in charge, against Italy on to the last weekend of the tournament to Joe Schmidt's chosen line-up for the opening match in the 2014 campaign (see below for selections).
There is a remarkable symmetry especially when one considers that but for injuries to Jonathan Sexton and Paul O'Connell during Kidney's time in last season's Six Nations and that suffered currently by Seán O'Brien and Keith Earls, the teams bridging one coaching regime to the next would bear an uncanny resemblance.
To labour the point a little further, Tommy Bowe was injured during Kidney's final Six Nations and misses out again on Sunday, albeit for a different medical reason. It's reasonable to assert that he would be first choice and so the teams would be even more similar.
Without getting into a selection argument, Donnacha Ryan's current injury that keeps him sidelined, prevents him from mounting a strong challenge for a starting place. Simon Zebo and Craig Gilroy are both returning from injuries, while Like Fitzgerald, unavailable to Kidney at the time, is currently struck down by an abdominal strain.
Kidney was heavily criticised in some quarters for the conservatism of his selection during the final days of his tenure but as you can see, it doesn’t differ substantially from the side that Schmidt has chosen. So if the personnel is reasonably similar then the substance to any argument will be how the teams perform under the differing coaching styles.
When Kidney was at the helm, Ireland won a Grand Slam in his first season, three of the five matches hard fought in which they prevailed by a single score. After that campaign, the disparity between highs and lows became more obvious.
The performance against Australia at the World Cup represents a peak but over a period of time the side became careworn on the pitch, mentally and physically.
The only caveat to Schmidt’s appointment as Ireland coach was whether he would be able to translate the huge success of a work practice that had access to players on a daily basis to the intermittent time slots with which all international coaches must contend.
After an opening victory against Samoa, Ireland turned up flat and listless against Australia but crucially it wasn’t the patterns in terms of concept that were at fault, just the intensity and execution. That was borne out by the wonderful performance against New Zealand in Schmidt’s third game in charge.
The challenge for the New Zealander is to get his charges to replicate so many aspects of that display and tighten up on a few areas in defence and decision making. He’ll also be exercised by the six-day turnaround to the Welsh match. During his time with Leinster Schmidt’s selections often represented the singular challenge provided by a specific opposition.
It would be a surprise if he doesn’t tweak the team for the match against Wales. He’s also a stickler for skill sets and precision in execution. He expects his players to create and exploit space and to be judicious in kicking the ball. There has to be purpose in everything they do and the players will be accountable for their actions. For Schmidt the devil will always be in the detail.
So what’s on Schmidt’s bucket list for the Six Nations Championship? Results are obviously a priority. Broadening the base of Test standard Ireland players and trying to replace someone – Brian O’Driscoll – whose influence on the team, on and off the pitch, will leave a void the size of which has yet to be determined, will be interesting to watch.
He won’t allow players to play their way out of the team over an extended period of time that was periodically the case under previous coaching regimes. He wants competition, will encourage it and acknowledge as much in his selections. It’ll be very surprising, even if Ireland win handsomely against Scotland, if he doesn’t make changes for the Welsh match.
In terms of personnel there is a familiar look to Ireland this weekend but that’s unlikely to permeate the performance and therefore hopefully avoid the disappointments of last season.
DECLAN KIDNEY'S XV v WALES 2013
R Kearney; C Gilroy, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, S Zebo; J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D Ryan, M McCarthy; P O'Mahony, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.
DECLAN KIDNEY'S XV v ITALY 2013
R Kearney; C Gilroy, B O'Driscoll, L Marshall, K Earls; P Jackson, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D Ryan, M McCarthy; P O'Mahony, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.
JOE SCHMIDT'S XV v SCOTLAND 2014
(Players selected in all 3 sides in bold)
R Kearney; D Kearney, B O'Driscoll, L Marshall, A Trimble ; J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; P O'Connell, D Toner; P O'Mahony, C Henry, J Heaslip.
