'He's an international quality ten': Declan Kidney's take on the current form of exiled Ireland out-half Paddy Jackson
With Ireland continuing to struggle to find a long-term successor at Test level to veteran out-half Johnny Sexton, Declan Kidney has lauded the recent Gallagher Premiership form of Paddy Jackson who had his Ulster contract terminated by the IRFU in April 2018.
Handed a Test debut in 2013 by Kidney during his final season at the helm in Ireland, Jackson was the established back-up to Sexton until he was sacked by his employers despite being found not guilty of raping a young student at a house party in Belfast.
Jackson restarted his career with a difficult Top 14 season in France with relegated Perpignan but he was then snapped up by Kidney at London Irish and while it has taken him some time to find top form, he has been a pivotal reason why the Exiles club have recently climbed up the Premiership table with three wins and two comeback draws in their last six outings.
With Ireland struggling for options beneath Sexton, something that was very evident in the recent Guinness Six Nations loss to France where Billy Burns started and Ross Byrne provided bench back-up, Jackson’s name has cropped up in the ongoing debate.
Jackson is ineligible for Test squad selection due to playing his club rugby outside of the island of Ireland – the IRFU haven’t picked a non-Irish based player since Sexton was away at Racing during the 2015 Six Nations.
It was last June when popular prop Gary Halpin, who has now sadly passed away aged 55, featured in a RugbyPass throwback to the last Ireland team of the amateur era in 1995 https://t.co/6MgrerfLRg
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However, that stipulation hasn’t disguised the rich form he is currently enjoying in the Premiership at the age of 29, nearly four years after he won the last of his 25 caps in a June 2017 tour win over Japan. Choosing his words carefully about a player whose court case and subsequent exit from Ulster generated a massive media spotlight in 2018, Kidney said: “Paddy is a very good rugby player. We knew that and we wanted to bring in an out-half with experience.
“Both myself and Les (Kiss, his ex-Ulster boss and an Ireland assistant) knew him and we asked him to join us. He has joined in and I suppose he is not doing anything we didn’t think he was well capable of. It seems a very bland answer but you probably wouldn’t expect anything else from me on that particular topic.
“He is an international ten, he is an international quality ten. That is not in dispute. He is just in his prime and he is playing accordingly, I think,” continued Kidney. “He is a good player, yeah, but there is nothing he is doing that I didn’t think he was capable of doing.
“There was probably a couple of other areas he can add to his bow then too. I think his playing was truncated. He was at full-back a lot when he was at Perpignan and then when he was with us as well then too, we had Stephen Myler with us and we had a bit of 15/10 but there is a longer run there now at 10 and he is getting into the grove of that there more and more each game. I’m afraid that is as close to the beach that I will get to you.”
RugbyPass Offload EP 19 with Dan Lydiate ?
Christina, Dylan and Jamie are joined by Welsh and British & Irish Lion back-row Dan Lydiate this week!
We review all the Guinness Six Nations action, refereeing decisions & the France rugby situation.
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 3, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
No Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
28 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
5 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
28 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
28 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
21 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to comments