Writing in the Daily Telegraph, former England international Brian Moore outlines why he believes that Declan Kidney has the deepest pool of playing talent available to him in Irish history.
"At one point England had all the following back-row players available: openside – Peter Winterbottom, Gary Rees, Andy Robinson and Neil Back; blindside – Jon Hall, Mike Teague and Mick Skinner; No 8 – Dean Richards, Tim Rodber, Ben Clarke and Lawrence Dallaglio. Perm any three of them and they would be better than any combination now available.
“Ireland's back-row factory may not yet be turning out the equal of that list, but they have more talent in that department than at any time in their history. Stephen Ferris, Denis Leamy, David Wallace, David Pollock, Chris Henry, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O'Brien all featured prominently in their sides' Heineken Cup wins over the weekend.
“Ronan O'Gara's resurgent form ensured victory for Munster over Perpignan, making the national fly-half berth a genuine selection poser, but then the performances of Andrew Trimble on the wing, Keith Earls at centre and Isaac Boss at scrum-half also pushed their claims. Only a few years ago Irish selectors prayed for such problems.
“Declan Kidney, Ireland's coach, must have been very satisfied with not only the form of his returning internationals, such as Rob Kearney, but also many fringe and younger players. All of this suggests he has available to him the strongest depth of playing talent in Irish history.”
RSS feed
