Hands up if you want to be the Irish number 10
Jonathon Sexton's all-round game has seen him emerge as the main competitor to Ronan O'Gara for the No.10 Irish jersey
WHAT a difference a year makes. From paltry resources to relative health, Ireland's fortunes in the crucial out-half position have transformed dramatically in the last 12 months.
Jonathan Sexton finally put his hand up as genuine opposition to Ronan O'Gara for the Irish 10 shirt after steering Leinster to Heineken Cup glory last May and the duo are set to go head-to-head in the RDS tomorrow night.
O'Gara is still very much the man in possession, but, for the first time since David Humphreys retired after the 2006 Six Nations campaign, the Munster man has reason to look over his shoulder.
Elsewhere, Ian Keatley has benefited hugely from his move to Connacht as witnessed by the brace of caps he won against the US Eagles and Canada during the recent summer tour.
Nurture
And with Ian Humphreys in excellent early-season form for Ulster -- who will also nurture the undoubted potential of Niall O'Connor -- it seems Declan Kidney has the answers for the short, medium and long-term at out-half.
Previously, Paddy Wallace was the most viable replacement for O'Gara, even though he spent much of his time with Ulster operating in midfield. But now the national side has a depth of talent where there was once a dearth.
It's not an unfamiliar situation for Irish rugby. Tony Ward and Ollie Campbell famously battled it out for the number 10 shirt, while others like Paul Dean, Barry McGann and even Mike Gibson operated at pivot for Ireland around that same period, which puts Mick Quinn's tally of 10 caps at the time into perspective.
"There's no doubt there are a few of them showing their head at the moment," Quinn agreed. "Sexton is quite a bit ahead of the others at the moment in that he has more of an all-round game.
"I like Keatley as a footballer but he may not have a consistent place-kicking game yet, whereas Sexton seems to have got to grips with that."
The St Mary's man has picked up where he left off last season and at the weekend he held his nerve to drop a winning injury-time goal against Leinster's one-time 'bogey team' Edinburgh. It was further evidence of how Sexton, who was in the shadow of Felipe Contepomi for the past few seasons before the Argentinian's move to Toulon, has blossomed.
"Contepomi is a world-class player and Jonny was coming in for him and giving Leinster something different. He gave them game control which is along the lines of what Ireland need," Quinn said.
"O'Gara's strength is his kicking game and putting the ball in the corner and Sexton's pretty good at that as well. That's not to say that Ronan will be moving aside any day soon but it means we are definitely stronger in an area where we were particularly weak.
"Ian Humphreys is playing well and what I like about him is that he can play well in big games. But he needs to play well in all the games. It's as if he's only able to get motivated for the really big games and then goes out and plays well. His problem up to now has been consistency and whether he has got the physical side of things right defensively. But that's nothing that can't be got over.
"I haven't seen too much of Niall (O'Connor). From what I hear of him, he is a very talented guy but he has to get some game experience. If he's going to come through he's got to get in at Ulster consistently."
The Player Management Programme put in place by the IRFU will help ensure that senior players like O'Gara arrive in New Zealand for the 2011 World Cup in the best shape possible, while Sexton et al will be expected to improve further still over the next two seasons. So, are we likely to see another Campbell/Ward-esque duel come the World Cup?
"I'm not so sure," argued Quinn. "Kidney is a very astute operator and I think he will have all of these players blooded but he will know what his best team is. He'll have the 30 or 35 players that he will feel he can trust and he will be quite willing to try them during the World Cup because there are two or three games where you will need your squad players."
Quinn boldly predicted that Leinster would win the Heineken Cup in the Irish Independent last December when it seemed more likely that they would fail to qualify from their pool.
And now the Lansdowne man reckons Ireland can achieve great things at the next World Cup but the former Irish out-half warned that this season might have to be sacrificed if Kidney is to have the strongest possible squad available to him when Ireland's campaign kicks-off.
"I have great hopes for Ireland. Not necessarily in this Six Nations because I think we will have to try people in different positions to get ready for the following season, which is very important," he explained. "I have high hopes for Ireland at the next World Cup. I think we are going to do really well in it."
- Donnchadh Boyle
Irish Independent
