Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

Panic is a common affliction in sport. Emmet Moloney wants to tone it down a bit...

We see panic every week in soccer. If a team loses one match the knives come out with pundits, supporters and so-called experts calling for someone’s head – usually the manager’s. Once upon a time in Irish sport the role of manager was strictly behind the scenes – low on praise, lower on criticism. A strange logic applied, namely that a manager can’t put the ball over the bar for you. This is a theory I would adhere to. A manager selects a team, all of whom are qualified to take the field, yet he is to blame if they have a bad day.

Various conspiracy theories have been propounded as to why Liam Sheedy and his selectors quit their positions after three years in charge of Tipperary. It appears that no-one could quite believe that quitting a job at the top with incredible time commitments was the only logical thing to do after winning an All-Ireland.

This I firmly believe. However, there must be one caveat added. Following Tipp’s first-round loss to Cork back in late May, the Tipp management came in for severe criticism – most of it home-grown. It was nothing but panic on the part of pundits and supporters because an entire team does not become bad overnight. Naturally they came back and produced their real form and eventually delivered that incredible performance to beat Kilkenny. Panic over.

In Kilkenny, they don’t do panic. It’s the hallmark of great sides. The wonderful Kerry team of the ’70s and ’80s looked in trouble in plenty of All-Irelands, notably against Roscommon in 1980 and Tyrone in 1986, but they found a way. It helped that the man pulling the strings, Micko, never got too carried away. This is why Irish rugby is in good hands at the moment. Declan Kidney is a manager from the Micko school. Any words needed to be spoken to players are done behind closed doors; any changes needed are done for the right reasons, not as a result of the promptings of the George Hooks of this world.

I like George Hook and he has serious rugby qualifications. Like anyone, he is entitled to his opinion. But George panics these days, I suspect because he knows it is good television. A crisis? An era over in Irish rugby? After one flat-ish performance? Calm yourself, George.

The biggest crisis to become visible at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday was the crowd, or the lack of one. The atmosphere resembled an International Rules outing with little spark until Ireland rallied near the end. Plenty of people, myself included, queried building a ground with such a small overall capacity when the 82,500 magnificence of Croke Park lay idle. Not at the moment!

Thankfully the IRFU are a very competent sporting body. They will sort this out and pronto. Prices will come down and as quickly as the All Black match we will see a difference.

We’ll see one on the field because the Springboks match wasn’t anything close to a true reflection of this Irish team. The nature of the professional game means there is always a likelihood of a less than clinical display when a team gets together for the first time in a season. So it was with Ireland.

So Kidney won’t be unduly worried. Samoa will be beaten this weekend and don’t get your hopes up for a classic there either – it is the week after that really counts.

I like a bet now and again and hopefully Ireland will provide the Christmas money because they are going to give the All Blacks plenty of it. We can beat them (although the bet will be on the handicap – Ireland plus whatever the bookies offer).

After watching that stop-start performance last Saturday, how can I possibly think we have a chance? Because it is set up for us. And there is no better man than Declan Kidney to sniff out an ambush. We’re due a huge game. It’s in us. We’ll have warmed up on the Samoans and there will be no experimentation against the All Blacks. We will be giving it everything.

Brian O’Driscoll’s career is only missing one notch on the CV – the scalp of the All Blacks. Kidney can become the first Irish international coach to defeat them. They have done nothing but beat us up for the past few years and plenty of the Irish squad have scores to settle.

Jamie Heaslip for one, sent off last summer in a test match down there, will be relishing his chance at redemption. We are always underdogs against this crowd but this time even more so. That’s always a help. Irish players will know that if they stand out against the All Blacks, they have one foot on the plane to next year’s World Cup.

The All Blacks are the international benchmark for everyone else. Forget the Six Nations – this is the most important game Ireland will play between now and the World Cup. We have to live with them for the entire game. We will.

That’s where the coach comes in. Now is not the time to panic. Ronan O’Gara looked exceptional, Eoin Reddan the opposite. Ditto Rory Best. So what will Deccie do? Will he respond to the Hooks of this world or will he stay with his own tried and trusted instincts?

It’s a rhetorical question. Kidney will do what’s best for the squad. He preaches a cool head in defeat as well as victory. He is not one for exaggeration, thank God. Those qualities won’t desert him now.

So don’t get too carried away by how good or bad we are against Samoa. Judge our prospects for the World Cup when we face New Zealand. That’s the day of reckoning.

We need a lift. The IRFU needs a lift. Deccie and his troops will provide it. For God’s sake, is Michael Bublé going to be the only one to sell out the Aviva? Of course not.

Don’t panic.

To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...