RUGBY:ALTHOUGH THE initial reaction appears almost to have registered on the Richter scale, in actual fact selecting Jonathan Sexton ahead of Ronan O'Gara to play South Africa at Croke Park on Saturday is not quite the seismic shock it might first appear.

This is, relatively speaking, still a new regime, with a new way of thinking compared to before. And, loyal bloke though he is, in promoting the likes of Tomás O’Leary and Denis Hurley ahead of Peter Stringer and Shaun Payne in the knock-out stages of Munster’s 2008 Heineken Cup, and even Donncha Ryan ahead of Anthony Foley on the bench, Declan Kidney has shown he is not afraid of making emotionally tough calls for the greater good.

As with Foley and Stringer, O’Gara has become something of an institution on the Irish team. Effectively, the last time Ireland’s all-time record points scorer was not picked for a Test against front-line opposition was against Argentina in the pool stages of the 2003 World Cup at Adelaide.

That will make his hurt all the more acute, but however much a fickle public might just like change for change’s sake, it’s worth recalling O’Gara’s first of 93 caps against Scotland in the 2000 Six Nations. Not only did David Humphreys, then 29, come off the bench to play a match-wining role in that 44-22 win with a try-scoring 14-point cameo, but that would be the first of another 50 caps for Humprheys – 26 of them as the starting number 10.

Perceived wisdom had it subsequently that rotating between the two was bad for O’Gara, but having two outhalves is better than one. In any event, the 32-year-old O’Gara is not quite chopped liver just yet.

But well though O’Gara played against Australia, with the 24-year-old Sexton having acquitted himself so authoritatively against Fiji, it makes sense to pitch him in against the Boks. It is both a bold and clever move, and, in his current form, if not now, then when?

Kidney maintained that this was not always the plan. “No, you never plan like that, you take each game as it comes. I thought Ronan was going well. He played well against Australia. We know that. Jonathan got a chance last Saturday and he did okay.

“As a side we need to grow. When do you give him a go? I’d like to be playing Ronan. I’d like to give Jonathan a go but I can only have one. This time I’ve given it to Jon.”

Sexton’s promotion also works in the short term as well as the long term. Not alone will it give the Springboks something different to think about – they’d assuredly have targeted O’Gara physically and verbally after the end-of-game events in the Lions’ second Test defeat – it should benefit Sexton and Ireland in the next two Six Nations campaigns as well.

“There were a multitude of things behind my thinking,” said Kidney. “Last week, the only reason that Ronan didn’t play against Fiji was because we had to try and find out what would happen if he wasn’t around. This week, basically you don’t get a whole lot of games to try things. It’s different in the Southern Hemisphere where they get a whole series of matches. Because there’s such a gap between this one and the next one, if I don’t find out things now then I could still be wondering come February. We’ll know more come Saturday.”

However, the Irish coach accepted that the 2011 World Cup was part of the greater picture.

“That’s why we need to find things out. There is no way we are going to get to a World Cup and play four or five warm-up games and the number of games we want to play.

“We have the chance to play the world champions in our own back yard so you don’t take risks, but you have a bit of a plan and you try to find things out as you go along.”

There remains a slight cloud over Stephen Ferris and a darker one above Denis Leamy, whose ankle ligament injury had him on crutches on Sunday though he was walking yesterday. No inkling was given as to who might come in were Leamy ruled out, but the likelihood remains Seán O’Brien.

The other changes from the 22 that drew with Australia see Keith Earls start instead of the injured Luke Fitzgerald, with Gordon D’Arcy promoted to the bench, as are Peter Stringer and Tony Buckley.

Stringer’s is the reward for his performance and badly needed outing against Tonga and ability to offer a quicker tempo off the bench in what must have been a tight call with Eoin Reddan.

There is, perhaps, an element of risk in promoting Buckley at the expense of Tom Court. The latter is arguably the more versatile of the two, and Buckley is more of a tighthead who has yet to convince at loosehead. But then again, it would be a greater feat of endurance for the 36-year-old John Hayes to withstand 80 minutes against the world champions than it should be for the 22-year-old Cian Healy.

Furthermore, the apparent rejuvenation of Buckley – albeit against Fiji – is perhaps further evidence of Kidney’s expert touch, as is Buckley’s promotion here.

The Springboks have delayed naming their team until tomorrow, but the expectation is that captain John Smit will revert to hooker in what will be a full-strength side, allowing for injuries, in their finale to all-conquering 2009.

“They’ll pressurise all parts of your team – the scrum, the lineout, the breakdown,” said Kidney. “They’re superb at that.”

“They have a really strong field position game. They have a number of guys who can kick the ball 50 or 60 metres and if you’re any way loose at the back they’ll find holes.

“They have a lot of confidence in their lineout to get it and retain it. They just put you under the ultimate pressure and it depends on how you respond to that pressure as to how the game goes.

“That’s why it’s the ideal opportunity to find things out.”