The obituaries on Irish rugby are a tad premature. Does anyone remember the loss to Italy in 2013? It ended up being Declan Kidney’s last match as Ireland coach. Peter O’Mahony finished on the wing. I was sin-binned for tripping a player. Not my finest moment, but at 23-years-old, I was still learning how to be an international scrumhalf. It can take a couple of Six Nations championships to find your sea legs. Anyway, back in 2013, Irish rugby was washed up. The good times had come to their natural conclusion. We would remain a nuisance to the bigger nations but the Grand Slam in 2009 was the high water mark.READ MORE The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times Live Ireland v...
