When looking at the itinerary that Ireland will undertake this season, it is pertinent to reflect on the decision by the IRFU last March to bring radical alternation to the selection process for the national team.

It was decided in March to appoint Brian Ashton as coach for the next six years. That means he should be in place until the World Cup in 2003. The IRFU chose well when they appointed Ashton. He has the necessary time now to make an impact and to bring his own particular philosophy to bear on the Ireland team.

Co-inciding with the announcement of Ashton's appointment was that of Pat Whelan as manager of the team, a post he has filled for the past two seasons. It was also stated that in future the Ireland selection committee would be reduced from five to three. The decision to reduce the selection committee was broadly welcomed, but there was a feeling that, in fact, Ashton as coach should have plenary powers in relation to team selection. I would support that. But Ashton is on record as stating that it was not a job for one man and was happy with the three-man set up. But in terms of actual selection, Ashton's view should and probably will prevail, with Whelan and Donal Lenihan offering the necessary level of support and advice. At the press conference announcing the changes, the role of Whelan in relation to team selection was questioned at some length. The purpose behind the questions was evident enough. Would Ashton's hands be tied in relation to the players he wanted? Yet the statement made by Eddie Coleman, chairman of the election sub committee, was specific in its terminology: "The national selection group will be made up of the honorary team manager, the coach, and one other person under the overall control of the honorary manager."

Then Coleman added: "I would stress that Pat Whelan and Brian Ashton have already discussed and agreed their roles and are fully confident that the proposed new set-up is best suited to Ireland's needs. No decision will be taken on who specifically would be the third member of the group for the present."

And so we come to the third man, and his role, especially in a three-man set-up, assumes considerable importance. It took the IRFU a long time before appointing Lenihan to complete the selection trio. There were very firm indications that Lenihan was the man Whelan and Ashton wanted. They both know him and worked with him in the five-man selection body last season. Indeed Whelan has worked with him as a selector for two seasons.

Personally I cannot understand why it took so long to appoint Lenihan. On reflection maybe I do know, or at least suspect, the cause of the delay. There were mutterings and mumblings that if Lenihan was appointed, it would mean two Munster men out of three on the management committee. To which I would say, so what. Old habits die hard and of course for the first time in well over 100 years the provincial element has been taken out of the selection process and it will be all the better for that.

The current system by which coach, manager and selector are chosen owes absolutely nothing to provincial input. That in itself is right. For nearly 90 years it was two from Leinster, two from Ulster and one from Munster, with the provinces having the right to nominate their men. That very process had an inbuilt provincial dimension with the selectors being dependent on their provinces for selection. The process then changed at the beginning of the eighties with the provinces sending in three nominations each and an election sub committee picked the selectors from those nominations. The selectors then chose the coach and that process was in itself unsatisfactory and very divisive. We had instances when the contestants for the coaching position were selectors, thus making the selection committee itself a house divided.

It was also unfair on those contesting the coaching position and indeed on the selectors who had to choose between two of their own members. The process by which the coach was selected was also changed and taken out of the hands of the selectors. Other changes followed in relation to the selection committee and the method by which it would be appointed, such as the appointment of a manager as well as a coach with both automatically selectors, and three selectors then appointed to serve with them.

Thus the route to the new three-man set up has been long. Yet in saying that it should be stressed that there were some very good selection committees and indeed coaches during the last 20 years, but the system by which they were appointed was not satisfactory and certainly would not be appropriate in the new professional era.

The first test for the new trio of Ashton, Whelan and Lenihan is now at hand and we shall see the initial fruits of their labours when the team to meet New Zealand in Dublin on November 15th will be announced tomorrow morning. It will certainly be an interesting team and it looks fairly certain now that it will contain some new caps, possibly four or five. It is unfortunate that the scope for selection has been considerably narrowed by the unavailability of so many players, all of them experienced. And experience and proven ability would be very valuable assets against what is currently the best team in the world. Picking five new caps against opposition of that quality carries a considerable risk. But Ashton will have weighed all his options and no doubt the team will essentially be his choice.

Injuries deprive Ashton of Jim Staples, Simon Geoghegan, Jonathan Bell, Richard Wallace (who is not lining out for Saracens this weekend and is thus apparently ruled out, not having played for three weeks), Jeremy Davidson, a huge loss, David Corkery and and the uncapped Dylan O'Grady. Not all of those players would necessarily have been chosen even if fit, but I am quite sure four of them would have been.

While the selectors have very good options in some positions, it is especially unfortunate that there are not a lot of experienced players who have proved their worth in those positions where some of those now injured play. Thus the selectors will have to take calculated risks in a few areas.

One thing that now looks apparent is that not many of those who went on the Development tour to New Zealand last May will be playing against the All Blacks. Granted many of the established players missed that tour, but it could be that only four of that squad will be selected for the upcoming match. Of that four, Conor O'Shea and Robert Henderson, both likely selections, are capped players; so too is Gabriel Fulcher another possible, but Malcolm O'Kelly may edge Fulcher out.

But the team to face the All Blacks could include a few other players who were not selected for that tour and are uncapped. So it could be that for some of the younger school, the Development tour was a good tour to miss.