What Declan Kidney made of Farrell's Ireland winning the Grand Slam
Declan Kidney has given his verdict on Ireland clinching just their fourth-ever Grand Slam with last Saturday’s win over England in Dublin. The London Irish director of rugby was the Ireland boss when the first Slam since 1948 was secured in dramatic circumstances in Cardiff in 2009.
Two more Slams have since been won, Joe Schmidt leading the clean sweep in 2018 and with Andy Farrell’s team now following suit in 2023, it means that the Irish have now secured three Six Nations Grand Slams in 15 seasons after winning just one in the previous 120-plus years in a championship that was first contested in 1883.
It was 10 years ago when Kidney was last in charge of Ireland, his team losing a round five match in Italy in March 2013, and he watched last weekend’s championship finale in Dublin from home in London ahead of his club’s Premiership Rugby Cup final the following day versus Exeter. He lapped up what unfolded at the Aviva.
“I watched it in my apartment here in London with my brother and my nephew. We enjoyed it and went out for a meal then to celebrate after. But I live right next door to Twickenham, so I had to keep my head down,” he chuckled when talking with RugbyPass on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s St Patrick’s Gallagher Premiership party game at home to Northampton.
Asked for his thoughts on the current Farrell-coached Ireland team joining the classes of 2009 and 2018 on the Grand Slam pedestal, Kidney said: “I can’t speak highly enough of them. The way they have conducted themselves on and off the pitch is brilliant.
“They got on with the injuries during the year. I wouldn’t be putting the jinx on them, but Andy and his coaching team, Paul (O’Connell) and the rest of the lads, I am delighted for them. They conducted themselves really well and the lads on the pitch were excellent. Delighted.”
It’s an era of riches for Ireland, a hat-trick of Grand Slams in the last decade-and-a-half, and their latest has now generated so much expectation heading to Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. “We have a good set-up at home, we have the feeder systems. Leo (Cullen) does a really good job and maximises everything in Leinster. It is nearly the ultimate system that he has.
“There are so many schools and each of those schools will produce a good player every year. They bring them through, but they don’t allow bottlenecks to occur. And the other provinces have done really strongly as well then too with that and they all feed into it.
“But I wouldn’t be getting carried away – we need to keep our heads down. There is a big World Cup campaign now and it’s a completely different series. There are four group games that are played over five weeks this time rather than the four weeks that they were before. That will be a little challenging.
“I don’t have the order of games in my head (Romania, Tonga, South Africa and Scotland), but all those things are going to make a difference. Then it’s your luck with injuries then too during that because you must play a few warm-up matches and it depends on how those bangs and knocks come through. But from the celebrations on the pitch and the size of the squad that they had there, it is certainly a great starting base to go into the summer with.”
Ireland were skippered to glory by the soon-to-be 38-year-old Johnny Sexton, the out-half that Kidney handed a Test debut to way back in 2009 versus Fiji at the RDS. The win over England was his 113th appearance and his longevity in the game has been immense. “I’m not surprised,” beamed Kidney, “but there are quite a number of players at that level that have gone on to do that.
“They have a love of the game, an understanding of what it takes. How they mind themselves, that is the bit that people don’t see, they are good professionals. With most professionals, this job is a way of life, it’s a lifestyle as much as anything, so how disciplined you are with your lifestyle to get yourself ready takes a lot of effort and a lot of due diligence.
“The 80 minutes on the pitch is the showpiece of that but it takes many, many hours of preparation to get to that stage to be able to perform at that level and do that. Johnny is the first to congratulate the fellas around him to allow him to do it, but he has certainly shown himself to be an inspirational leader.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments