Time for Kidney to go

Ireland's slim chances of challenging for this year's Six Nations were removed yesterday following a defeat to Scotland in Edinburgh. Ireland enjoyed 71% of the possession and 77% of the territory throughout the game, but they failed to convert this possession to scores. A 3-0 half-time lead was turned over into an 8-12 defeat for Declan Kidney's men, and the pressure on him has now increased exponentially. This blog will offer an opinion on the question, "Should Declan Kidney remain on as Ireland manager?"

Kidney was named Irish coach in May 2008 following a hugely successful period in charge of Munster, which had seen him claim two Heineken Cups over the previous four seasons. His first season in charge of Ireland was historic. Ireland secured their first Grand Slam in 61 years following an unbearably tight game against Wales in Cardiff, which quite literally went down to the last kick. 2011's Six Nations saw Ireland put in a hugely intense performance to deny England their first Grand Slam in nearly a decade on the last day of the Championship. The Rugby World Cup of 2011 saw Ireland pull off a shock, and arguably the team's greatest ever RWC victory, with a 15-6 victory over 1991 and 1999 champions Australia.

These have been, however, the exceptions to the rule under Kidney. In the same period Ireland have failed to deliver in international competition, while their provinces have simultaneously dominated the Heineken Cup. They have lost two of their last four contests with England in the Six Nations since 2010, and three of their four games against France in the same period. Also, they have lost two against Scotland, and two against Wales, and failed to pick up even a single Triple Crown.

The trajectory has been spiraling downwards since 2009. From 1st that year, to 3rd in 2011. The table, as it stands in 2013, shows Ireland in 4th place, with two difficult games to come. Ireland will face France, a team they haven't beaten since 2009; a team that they have only beaten twice in the last fifteen contests between the two teams, as well as Italy in Rome. Victory in only one of those games will see Ireland finish 5th, their worst performance since the Five Nations Championship welcomed The Azzurri into the competition in 2000.

The aforementioned victory over Australia in the 2011 RWC gave Ireland a fantastic chance of reaching the semi-finals of the competition for the first time. Ireland faced Wales in the quarter-final, and went into the game as favourites. However a lacklustre Irish performance saw them exit the competition following a 22-10 defeat.

Ireland's 2012 summer tour of New Zealand was another disappointing trip down under for the team. Kidney's men were beaten three times by the All Blacks, which was hardly surprising. The nature of two of the defeats was an indictment of Kidney however, as Ireland recorded their heaviest ever defeat in nearly 140 years of test rugby. Ireland lost 60-0, 42-10 and 22-19 to end the season on a real low.

Ireland grasped defeat from jaws of victory against South Africa in the Autumn Series that followed, and they had to beat Argentina in the final games of the series in order to remain a Tier Two team regarding the RWC draw.

Brian O'Driscoll was injured during the Autumn Series, but he was not re-appointed to the captaincy upon his return to fitness. O'Driscoll was hugely disappointed, but he accepted the decision. The wounded former captain put in a man-of-the-match performance against Wales in Cardiff, and his performances have been in stark contrast to that of new captain Jamie Heaslip. The latter was extremely poor against England, and was largely anonymous yesterday.

Ireland's 2013 Six Nations campaign appears to be a microcosm of Kidney's reign to date. A highly encouraging start against Wales has been followed with two defeats. Weather conditions in Dublin against England did not lend themselves to attractive rugby, but Ireland still had their chances and failed to take them. The Scottish defeat was much more disappointing however. As already mentioned, Ireland dominated in terms of both territory and possession. Eight points was a somewhat pathetic return for such domination.

Ireland were not helped by the lack of a fit, on-form outhalf. It seems obvious, even to this rambling GAA head, that playing Paddy Jackson at number 10 was a bad decision to make. Jackson has not been taking kicks for his province in recent times, and Leinster's Ian Madigan was surely the form player to pick in that position. In the end, Jackson's tally of one from four cost Ireland dearly. Like the call on removing O'Driscoll's captaincy, picking Jackson was another call that Kidney got wrong.

Ireland almost completely lacked any bite when they got inside the Scottish 22. The ball was slow any time Ireland got close, and the players seemed to lack any invention when it came to scoring. When you look at the way these same players play for their respective provinces, it's only reasonable to draw the conclusion that George Hook drew, that Kidney has "taken Ireland as far as he is capable of taking them."

Gavin Cummiskey, writing in The Irish Times, gave Kidney a rating of 4 out of 10. He wrote that Kidney must "shoulder the blame" for picking Jackson at ten. TheScore.ie's Patric McCarry called on Kidney to "do his country... (a) service by stepping aside after the Six Nations." Joe.ie was asking who should replace Kidney, with the implication that his time should be up with Ireland. Although Rob Kearney defended his coach, claiming that the players should "bear the brunt" of the criticism, it is clear that the mood is going against Kidney.

Thus, Kidney has taken a Championship winning side and brought them to a standard where they will give their worst performance in the competition this century. He has overseen Ireland's best chance of making a RWC semi-final being thrown away, as well as Ireland' heaviest ever test match defeat. The team narrowly avoided dropping into the the third-tier of test nations, before Kidney decided against allowing the recovering Brian O'Driscoll to return to the team as captain. Ireland, under Kidney and his new captain Heaslip, are now battling to avoid a wooden spoon in the Six Nations. It, unquestionably, is time for Kidney to go. I believe his achievement in 2009 should rightly mean that the IRFU should be magnanimous, but I believe it should merely allow him to avoid being fired rather than remaining in his job. His contract runs out in the summer, and it should not be renewed.