Sexton rewarded for fine form with a well-earned rest

Declan Kidney (or ‘Deccie’, as a number of the ever-so-comfortable Munster contingent seem happy to call him in interviews) revealed his Irish team today, resting Jonny Sexton and picking Ronan O’Gara to face Scotland on Sunday.

The Irish back three once the necessary changes have been made to bring Paddy Wallace on for Tommy Bowe

The sheer bafflement at many of the calls on a number of forums is probably justified. Paddy Wallace will sit on the bench beside Jonny Sexton, ensuring a surfeit of cover for O’Gara should he have to come off. He can also cover for Gordon D’Arcy at 12, and – at a real push – Luke Fitzgerald at 15…however, any injury at 11, 12, 13 or 14 would probably involve a number of backline changes. It got me thinking (for about a nanosecond): who has been the outstanding utility back in Ireland this season? Who has played all four of those positions in the past 2 months? Who made his international debut last month, scored his first international try last week, and might have his confidence shattered by being dropped from the 22 entirely this weekend? Yep, sorry Ferg, but I’ll see you in the 3 Sisters before the match, maybe.

Although it’s probably good from a Leinster point of view that Sexton is on the bench, it’s a bit annoying for me personally. I’ve shelled out a lot of money to go to this game, and now I’ll be subjected to a snorefest of a kicking competition between Ronan O’Gara and Chris (Cheeky Girl Mrs.) Paterson.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about this selection is at scrum half. O’Gara’s going to look class because he’s playing with Reddan (I believe him and Sexton have played 13 minutes together for Ireland in the 6 Nations, ever*) as well as his personal minder, David Wallace. Therefore Wallace won’t bind in the scrum and Ireland will concede penalties there against an 8 man Scoittish shove. Who gets the blame? Healy and Ross, of course.

However, I’ve realised that my annoyance is not unique among rugby fans. For example, on the Comments section in Jamie Heaslip’s Irish Times blog, the following have been posted by irate rugby fans:

Thanks for that Jamie,

Wonderful to get an insight into the true life of a modern professional rugby player and the stresses you face during such an intense campaign.

I would, however, like to highlight one quick point in this particular piece. There is absolutely no mention of Ronan O’Gara whatsoever. Clearly this is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. ROG should not be playing international (or even high-level club) rugby. He lacks the physical prowess to stand up to even the lightest of breezes. I realise this may not be the ideal place to voice my concerns, but, then again, it is one of the few outlets to which I can gain access. For the sake of Irish rugby, I urge you to ensure that ROG’s career is ended as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary.

I look forward to further support from my peers on this issue.

Regards,

Spenno

Comment by Spencer Mitton

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Dear Spenno,

Spot on! The sooner the Irish team is rid of all those Munster inbreds the better! Ronan “Turnstile” O’Gara has got to go. In fairness though he’s going to be a big hit for Munster in the Challenged Cup against the like of Dubrovnik RFC or whoever!

Regards,

Deccie

Comment by Declan Gibney

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Oh god O’Gara’s starting against Scotland. Jamie, I sympathise with you because now you’re going to have to spend most of the game protecting the 10 channel instead of doing what you do best. Shame.

Comment by Nelly

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*In his thirteen caps, Jonny Sexton has played with Eoin Reddan for a total of 142 minutes, 55 minutes v Fiji (21/11/09), 11 minutes v France (13/2/10), 10 mins v New Zealand (12/6/10), 64 mins v New Zealand (20/11/10) and 2 minutes v Italy (5/2/11)

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