Ireland coach Declan Kidney has insisted that his gruelling World Cup warm-up programme has not backfired spectacularly.
Irish goose not cooked insists coach ahead of World Cup
Ireland coach Declan Kidney has insisted that his arduous World Cup warm-up programme has not backfired spectacularly on his side.
After suffering beatings in Edinburgh and Bordeaux, the Irish crashed to a third successive defeat on Saturday when they were comprehensively beaten by France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
And with a final showdown against England still to come, yet another confidence sapping defeat could see Kidney's men head into the World Cup riddled with self-doubt.
But the coach, who on Monday will name the squad that will travel to New Zealand, stood by his decision to play four international matches in the build-up.
The logic behind Kidney's gruelling schedule is to avoid a repeat of the 2007 World Cup in France when Ireland went in poorly prepared.
Disastrous
Under the guidance of then head coach Eddie O'Sullivan, the Men in Green crashed out at the group stage with a 30-15 defeat by Argentina.
But, with such a disastrous build up this time around, there are whispers that the latest coach may, in fact, have overcooked his goose and Ireland now face the very real possibility of arriving Down Under wracked with apprehension.
"There was a reason why we went for this number of games," said a defiant Kidney however, insisting that his plan was necessary to improve his players' match fitness.
"I knew we'd need the games, we're better off for having them. We obviously need to work on the results, there's no hiding away from that.
"One match is worth about 10 training sessions. We just need more and more of that."
