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

With spring comes the Six Nations and an international season which ends with a World Cup. Emmet Moloney looks forward to the action...

On the rugby fields we are a little bit apprehensive about this Six Nations. We shouldn’t be. Every second year, we get France and England at home, traditionally the two games we struggle to win away from Dublin. So, this year if we manage to win our home matches, even the Grand Slam comes into focus. The schedule suits us down to the ground. Italy away, followed by the French at home and then the revenge mission in Murrayfield against the Scots. Three wins would not be beyond this squad and with momentum like that, who knows what could follow.

What definitely will follow later this year is the World Cup in New Zealand and despite everyone from Declan Kidney and Brian O’Driscoll down saying that this is a separate tournament and has no bearing on current thinking, such talk should be taken with a pinch of salt. Kidney and O’Driscoll have won their Grand Slam and Heineken Cups, Ireland need to reach a World Cup semi-final this autumn. That is the primary aim of the Irish rugby squad in 2011.

Everything is about the World Cup this year. Winning the Six Nations would be a great boost and would help in that goal, but there will be an air of experimentation this spring. Certain things will happen.

The first of those is the performance against Italy on Saturday. It will be poor, it will be disjointed and we will look ragged beating them. It’s always the way in the first game. The ball will be knocked on with great regularity, our handling will be off and players will be trying to do too much, too soon. That’s human nature and the way of international rugby. We shouldn’t be too worried come Saturday night as long as we have a victory in the bag, because two other sides will have been beaten and their campaigns will be off to a bad start. Not so Ireland.

Our injury concerns are very real, but having a few players out mightn’t be any harm. We get to see the squad system in use and, as the tournament progresses, we have some big-game players to return. Tommy Bowe and Jamie Heaslip come to mind. They are game-breakers and will be needed for England and Wales in particular.

Unusually, we look a little light in the back division because of the unavailability of some key players. Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy are both gone for the entire tournament and this means a chance for Luke Fitzgerald at 15. It’s also a chance for Keith Earls to lay down some markers of his own and for Fergus McFadden to test his recent form for Leinster in the international arena.

Our biggest problem is our pack. The back-row is a little light without Heaslip and Ferris to start and our scrum would be pushed around by a junior team. Apparently. The reality is never as bad as George Hook makes out. Mick Doyle once said that the scrum is simply a means of restarting the game and he’s not far wrong. A functioning scrum is what Ireland need – not one that coughs up penalties and territory. Surely that can be delivered.

Into that mix comes a raring-to-go Paul O’Connell. He will be Ireland’s man of the series. Having missed so much rugby and having watched his Munster side stutter in the Heineken Cup, he must be the most motivated forward in our squad and probably the whole tournament. And he was never really short in that department to begin with. O’Connell will lead and he will dominate. For those fond of a bet, man-of-the-match odds on the Limerick man will be a good investment.

Our front-row is an issue according to those watching on the sidelines. Wouldn’t it be great if we had microphones on those six players in every match. Would that help us to understand any better what is going on in there? Possibly. For now, the three men chosen have to garner equality to begin with, traction after that. John Hayes is still on the scene, Tony Buckey still the enigma, while our first-choice hooker is sidelined once again. Opportunity knocks for Cian Healy, Rory Best, Mike Ross, Sean Cronin and Tom Court. Hopefully one or two will take up the challenge and we can be spared the Hook and McGurk hyperbole.

Then we have the latest media flavour of the month in Sean O’Brien. This guy has been fantastic for Leinster and comes into this campaign with huge expectation resting on his broad shoulders. He is the future and a back-row with both himself and Jamie Heaslip in it puts us on a par with any country. But we must be patient with the young Carlow man.

The Irish rugby media love nothing more than the sight of potential. When they see it, they are inclined to get a little bit ahead of themselves. O’Brien has a bit of his trade to learn yet but the way he is being talked about, Saturday will be a disaster for him and Ireland if he doesn’t score four tries from his own half and win the man-of-the-match award before half-time.

Calm yourselves, lads. Give him a chance. International rugby is another step up and it will take him a game or two to find his feet. It is a huge pity that Jamie Heaslip isn’t there to take some of the heat off him, but hopefully O’Brien plays his normal game and doesn’t try to take too much on himself.

Jonny Sexton is the man in firm possession of the number 10 jersey now and if he can reproduce some of his Leinster form, we could be in business. He is playing that well and offers more of a threat than Ronan O’Gara. Watch Sexton make breaks on his own. He’s ready to take a central role in attack.

We’re in better shape that most commentators give us credit for and as the campaign develops we have fresh reserves returning from injury. This tournament is about development and momentum heading to the World Cup. It’s about blooding and discovering a couple of men who can do the job. And it’s about supporting the green jersey. It mightn’t be pretty but we’ll win. After Rome, we will take off. We have to be positive. The evenings are getting longer and the Six Nations is a rite of spring. God knows we need the distraction.


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