THE IRISH rugby team are “very conscious” of the state of the country although they live in something of a bubble, Ireland coach Declan Kidney said yesterday.
Kidney told an audience at UCD’s Law Society that the players had done “everything they could” to cheer up the Irish public and their reappearance on the pitch at the Aviva after Ireland beat England was to thank the public for standing by them during a difficult time.
He told the crowd players lived in something of a bubble during the season going from hotels to training pitches and gyms, but they never put themselves on a pedestal, believing they were the same as everybody else other than having the privilege of playing a game they love and get paid for it.
When asked what he felt about the state of the country, he said he had read living standards were back to 2002 levels. “From my memory 2002 things weren’t too bad,” he said.
Kidney said he missed the camaraderie of being a maths teacher in Presentation College in Cork and also the day-to-day commitments of running Munster, but the compensation was coaching Ireland.
The point of sport was not winning trophies, but doing your best. “You just measure yourself by winning trophies, that can be false. You have to teach yourself to be as good as you can be and if that wins trophies then all the better.”
He was fortunate in that regard to work with players who did their best and won trophies.
Kidney said he was genuinely touched to be made an honorary member of the law society as it meant more when not everything had gone right this season.
