This is a very exciting time for Ireland coach Declan Kidney. During this Six Nations he's got a great opportunity to help guys towards retirement and wring the last ounce of quality out of them while bringing young guys through.  Leinster's Sean O'Brien could cement a place in Ireland's back row |
The Six Nations is unbelievably important in its own right and you can't go chopping and changing and losing games simply because you're trying new people who might be viable for the World Cup. But it's close to calling time for a few of the older guys and this could be the last time we see a few of them in the Six Nations. Ireland need to see which guys can be plucked, not from obscurity, but from the fringes, who might go on to become the mainstays of the side. There has to be a sense of freshness because a lot of the team have been there for 10 years. I would have been confident of Ireland's Six Nations chances a couple of weeks ago, but I'm a little bit more uncertain now. The Munster loss against Toulon in the Heineken Cup, and the manner of it [the French side won 32-16], took the wind out of everybody's sails. It's something we've been afraid of happening for an awful long time but now that it has happened, we're all shocked that they haven't reached the last eight for the first time in 13 years. On the other hand, you have the re-emergence of Ulster to a certain extent and Leinster playing fantastic rugby, so we're very fortunate that the one time Munster haven't reached the levels we expect of them, the other teams have.  | It's going to be a long fight this year - very taxing on the body and the spirit and Ireland need to try and get that blend right |
I thought Ireland moved on somewhat in the autumn internationals. They should have beaten South Africa and didn't, but they would have learned an awful lot from it - Jonathan Sexton seems to have anyway, as we've seen this season with Leinster. This could be Sexton's moment, but Ronan O'Gara is not going to go without a fight and that's a great position for Ireland to be in, to have two outside-halves of that ilk. Sean O'Brien plays because of injuries to Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip in the back row, but he would have been in with a shout anyway; he's in fantastic form for Leinster at the moment. In the past Ireland have looked to the Munster props John Hayes and Tony Buckley, but with Hayes injured I am glad they have gone for Mike Ross at tight-head, with his Leinster team-mate Cian Healy pretty much locked down at loose-head. I'm not sure Donncha O'Callaghan has played well enough this season to partner Paul O'Connell in the second row, but he has got the nod to start with.  Fly-half Jonathan Sexton is enjoying a fine season for Leinster |
I would say the best second-row performance this season, albeit against a poor Australia, was young Ian Nagle, who played for Munster against the Wallabies in horrendous conditions at Thomond Park. It was a man-of-the-match performance but we haven't seen an awful lot of him since. We need an awful lot more younger players getting more game-time with Munster and Leinster. Leinster have been doing that this year but Munster haven't as much, although they have plenty of players in the wings. They need to be playing because you can't expect Kidney to pick people who haven't played for their province. Ireland have got France and England in Dublin so they've got to go into this Six Nations thinking the Championship is within their grasp. None of the teams will be saying they're going to win it, they'll all be saying 'we're going to take it one game at a time' and all the run-of-the-mill things that are said - and I'm going to say the same. Ireland need to go and beat Italy in Rome on Saturday, get off to a good start, build a little momentum and see how those big matches go. Can they beat France in Dublin a week later? Absolutely, but Ireland need to be in control and with France you just don't know, they're just so unpredictable - they were Grand Slam champions last year but beaten by 50 points by Australia in the autumn. You need to make sure you close them down and don't give them a chance, and Ireland are well capable of doing that. For Ireland, it's time to make sure the legs are there for the long fight, not just the class, because it's going to be a long fight this year - very taxing on the body and the spirit. They need to try to get that blend right. Keith Wood was talking to BBC Sport's Ben Dirs
Watch Ireland's opening Six Nations match against Italy on Saturday, 5 February, live on BBC One from 1400 GMT. Listen on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and Radio Ulster, with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website
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