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Saturday saw Ireland win their first Grand Slam since 1948, as the nearly men of the last decade finally broke free from their tag as underachievers and lived up to their billing as the golden generation.

Like the all-conquering England team of 2003, the pain of those near-misses would have fostered a steely determination that made losing an option not even worth contemplating, even when Stephen Jones landed the drop goal to give Wales the lead with minutes left on the clock.

Yet Ireland´s long-awaited coming of age cannot be put down to this alone. The rest of the pieces of the jigsaw needed to be put in place before the final hurdle could be negotiated, and the praise for this without doubt belongs to Declan Kidney. 

His understated, back-seat approach has achieved the seemingly impossible goal after just one year in charge. Speaking during the post-match celebrations, Brian O´Driscoll proclaimed that Kidney has the “X-factor”, and looking at the evidence it is hard to disagree.

After all, it was Kidney who moulded Munster into Europe´s top seeds, claiming two Heinken Cups and making Thomond Park a fortress feared by the continent´s elite. And this Grand Slam bore all the hallmarks of a team under his guidance. Kidney was a maths teacher and career guidance officer before going into professional coaching, and his approach certainly draws on his previous career.  Once he has the correct formulae and the right structures in place he simply leaves the personnel to do what they are good at, with a quiet word here and there when needed.

History aside, this Grand Slam was by no means eye-catching. An impressive performance at home to France was followed by a run of less-than-convincing results. Ireland were scrappy against England, only pulled away from the Italians once they started to tire, were run close by the Scots and looked nervy in Cardiff. But in the words of Martin Johnson in 2003, ´winning is everything´, so who cares if it isn´t pretty? The scores of Irish fans who welcomed their victrious team home certainly didn´t seem to mind too much.

Throughout the tournament, the Irish squad quietly went about their business, refusing to mention the ´you know what´ up until the final weekend, yet you always got the sense that deep down they knew this was their year. Typically, Kidney preferred to deflect the plaudits away from himself, preferring to cite ´honesty, trust and hard work´ as the reasons for their success.

Either way, his players certainly did not disappoint. The forward pack rucked hard and fast, forming a formidable unit that created a solid platform on which O´Gara could thrive. With time and space, he was able to kick intelligently and dictate the pace of the game, before releasing his backs to do their damage.

Kidney´s job was certainly made easier by the senior figures in the squad taking a leading role, in turn relieving some of the pressure from the shoulders of the newer faces. 

Paul O´Connel was a tower of strength in both the loose and the line-out, while Ronan O´Gara, early kicks vs England aside, was cool, calm and composed. Indeed, it was he who delivered the rousing speech to the team on the morning of the Wales game. Brian O´Driscoll was, for me, the star of the tournament, looking hungry in the tackle and dangerous on the break.

Jamie Heaslip was a model of consistency, showing considerable power at the base of the scrum. Flanker David Wallace seemed to be everywhere, making countless tackle and stealing ball that ought never to have been his. The back three of Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe and Rob Kearney meanwhile looked both solid in defence and elusive in attack, unflustered by the pressure cooker of Test rugby despite their inexperience. The foundations for Ireland´s future look solid, Kidney now needs to blood new talent to ensure a seamless integration once the older heads retire.

It is well known that Kidney gets the best out of his teams by making it clear that a jersey is never nailed down, and is always up for grabs. However, with the announcement of the Lions squad now just a few weeks away, I would argue that it would be safe to say many of this triumphant team have already laid claim to theirs. 

Whoeever ends up on the plane to South Africa however, stands a great chance of playing in the first XV. A highly competitive if not consistent tournament means each jersey is there to be grabbed. You can bet the Irish will be at the front of the queue though.

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