Reddan: 'This time we'll be ready to take on World'
Eoin Reddan believes that Ireland are better prepared for this year's World Cup than they were in 2007.
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September 2007 seems like a long time ago in many ways, but the painful and frustrating World Cup of four years ago will come into sharp focus in the coming months.
As a reference point, it's hard to see how Ireland can do much worse than they did in France as the 'best prepared Irish squad in history' from the 'golden generation' failed to deliver in a mad world of rumour, boredom and disbelief.
Looking back, Eoin Reddan can now see that some of the portents were there for the doom which followed, but after this season's provincial success and the revised build-up, he reckons things have moved on.
The scrum-half was one of the few shining lights from that tournament, rising from a bit-part player to claiming a starting spot for the key clashes with France and Argentina in an era when changes to the team were almost unheard of.
optimism
The optimism before that tournament was based on the preceding Six Nations, but between the spring and the autumn both Leinster and Munster suffered early exits from the Heineken Cup and the players' seasons petered out.
In contrast, this season kept going until the end and, Reddan argues, Leinster and Munster's success, coupled with Ulster's improvement, means that Ireland are in a much better place.
"I don't think it's time," argues the Leinster man. "It's the success since then that makes 2007 a bit less relevant.
"Things are very different now. We have different coaches, different players and a different run in to it.
"Last time, the provinces struggled in the Heineken Cup. This time, you have two provinces going well.
"Munster turned around their performances really quickly and produced some really good performances in the Magners League.
"In 2007, that really didn't happen. Teams seemed to be struggling, lads were a bit tired from rugby and that sort of thing.
"There was a tour to Argentina and that didn't go very well either. I was on that. This time rugby has stopped now, and maybe you get the feeling players are champing at the bit.
"This season hasn't been as long as other seasons. Players will be really looking forward to it, they'll come back fresh and ready.
"It's a really exciting time to be involved and a huge opportunity for everyone.
"What's gone on since then, a Grand Slam, Heineken Cups. Everyone is in a different space.
"(The last World Cup) is probably not that relevant, there are probably some lessons to be learned, but I'm not sure what they were. It's a bit of a blur."
That World Cup was one most players wanted to forget quickly, but for Reddan it was Ireland's poor form that allowed him to stake a claim for the No 9 jersey that until then seemed sewn on to Peter Stringer's back.
Despite winning the Heineken Cup with Wasps, the Limerick man's international experience had been limited to three caps, two off the bench, and three defeats.
But after the near-disasters against Namibia and Georgia, it was the then-Wasps man who got the nod and he was one of the few positives to come out of the tournament.
"It wasn't strange because I was confident in the rugby I was playing at the time," Reddan recalls. "I was very disappointed with the way things went, like the rest of the lads.
"On one hand, I was confident. (But) that didn't make any difference to the overall emotion. It was a very tough time. There's no excuses. We didn't really show up and we have to take responsibility for that."
Four years on, Reddan is among a clutch of players looking to put that memory to bed. At 30, he knows this is his time. But age, he insists, is not important -- the reality is that Ireland may not have a better chance to succeed on the world stage.
"If you're going to a World Cup with this squad of players it doesn't matter whether you're 15 or 40, you might never get as good a chance, and you have to take advantage," he said.
"I don't think there's any doubt that everybody trains very hard and does all the work off the pitch to put themselves in the best position possible.
"To be fair, in the last World Cup an incredible lot of work was put in by the players and it didn't come off on the pitch and a lot of that (work) wasn't seen.
"It will be the same this time around -- the players have to put themselves in the best position possible to win a World Cup.
"Winning it is miles off, but (in) the warm-up games we'll need to perform, then the pool games.
"You don't have to worry about winning the World Cup until the week of the final.
"From now it's about preparing yourself physically and mentally over the summer.
"If you look at the programme, it's going to be very tough and exciting as well. There will be plenty of opportunities for lots of players."
Reddan comes into this summer break as Ireland's incumbent scrum-half, having played in all of the Six Nations games, starting the last three and starring in the famous win over England at the Aviva, where his quick taps were a feature of a lively display.
Added to that, there was the Heineken Cup and a season where, despite the impressive form of his club rival Isaac Boss, it was Reddan who started more often than not and played a major role in that European final.
After the four-week summer break, he'll be back battling to secure the Ireland shirt for the opening World Cup game against the USA on September 11.
"There's going to be huge competition for places, not just for the 30 but for the XV," Reddan said.
"It's a good thing. It's very important in those warm-up games for that (competition for places) to be there.
"I know from the last warm-up games that we played in that they're really, really important.
"They're tough games. It's a different challenge going from a training pitch into a full-blown international like is going to happen for all of us this year."
It sounds like the summer can't end soon enough for a man and a team with plenty of unfinished business.
- Ruaidhri OConnor
Irish Independent
