Kidney: Triple Crown is huge

Kidney: Hoping for romantic ending to time at Croke Park

It's a romantic ending that couldn't be orchestrated - our last match at Croke Park with a Triple Crown to be won

Declan Kidney
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Ireland coach Declan Kidney is hoping to bid the perfect farewell to Croke Park by clinching the Triple Crown on Saturday.

The team play their final game at the cathedral of Gaelic sport, where they have played for the past four years, when they take on Scotland.

The defending RBS Six Nations champions will complete their fifth clean sweep of the home unions in seven seasons if they triumph this weekend.

For Kidney the Triple Crown would still be huge, particularly as it would provide a "romantic ending" to Ireland's time at Croke Park.

Dream

"To me the Triple Crown is huge because in the past I've seen teams that have failed to fulfil themselves," he said.

"Coming into the job, people were saying this team is getting old. I thought that if we could be involved in winning anything it would be brilliant.

"To me it's huge, it's something that you dream about being involved in, especially on home soil and as part of a special occasion.

"It's a romantic ending that couldn't be orchestrated - our last match at Croke Park with a Triple Crown to be won."

Ireland will relocate to a revamped Lansdowne Road - now rebranded as the Aviva Stadium - in the autumn.

Kidney admits it will be a wrench to leave an "exceptional stadium" that has seen some real rugby highlights in recent years, including a Grand Slam last year and a victory over reigning world champions South Africa.

Privilege

"It means a huge amount to the players to have been able to play at Croke Park," Kidney added.

"Most of our lads coming up through the age groups would have tried most of the codes - hurling, football, soccer.

"Everyone will have taken a good look at finals days when they were growing up. Now we're playing there in front of a full house.

"It's an exceptional stadium, as good as anything around the world. For an amateur organisation to build a stadium like that was a magnificent achievement.

"To have the use of their facilities over the last four years has been a genuine privilege. The biggest thing was the GAA's generosity and the fact they were willing to share it."

"A lot of the lads are looking forward to Saturday because internationals are not going to held there again."