We didn’t ask Fergus McFadden how it all seemed to him when Luke Marshall was picked at inside centre because we know the public face of rugby is blind loyalty. What that doesn’t mean is players like each other or that they always want their colleagues to succeed.
When Paddy Jackson, three weeks ago, said he “sat up in his seat” after Jonny Sexton’s hamstring popped against England, it seemed an innocent and natural deployment of his true feelings and a hunger that sees no further than the white lines.
Jolted into a new reality, Jackson was doing what he has been coached to do for most of his competitive life; sometimes it’s okay to be cut-throat.
Similarly when he miscued from the kicking tee, a light would have flicked on in Ian Madigan’s head. Opportunity comes in many guises in the fierce meritocracy of the locker room and winger Craig Gilroy’s innocent-looking injury was just that for McFadden. He will not let go easily.
“At the start of the championship I was very disappointed not to be involved,” he says. “You could talk to a coach for two hours about why he didn’t pick you. The decision was made. When it’s done, it’s done. That’s sport and you get on with it.
“Generally when you’re not pulled aside for a chat by Declan (Kidney) it’s a good thing. When I wasn’t called before the announcement I didn’t know what to think or what it meant . . . look, I’m in this week and I’ll be desperate to take my chance. It’s one I’ve been waiting for.”
Opinion divided
McFadden divides opinion. Some fans would ask why Luke Fitzgerald isn’t starting and why Marshall and Keith Earls are, or why McFadden isn’t at 12; Ulster supporters wonder why Andrew Trimble has tumbled down to sixth choice.
But none of them brings the kicking game of the 26-year-old from Kildare and none, including Ronan O’Gara, joined Jackson and Madigan in their kicking practice at the Aviva Stadium yesterday as McFadden did.
Kidney may have confused the issue of outhalf until he picks his team today at lunchtime but McFadden’s kicking, albeit cobwebbed, brings additional ammunition that Kidney hopes he won’t have to discharge.
“Paddy (Jackson) will kick on Saturday. We’ve full confidence in Paddy,” says McFadden. “He probably didn’t have his ideal day in his first Test match but he has proven he is a good and consistent place-kicker for Ulster.
“And Ian (Madigan) will be kicking if he’s starting at out-half. I will be working on my kicking but I work on it every week. I don’t know if my kicking abilities played any part in my selection. As far as I’m concerned I’m picked because I’m the right option on the right wing. It’s about contributing to that role as best I can. If I’m called on to do some place-kicking then well and good.”
He made his debut against Canada in 2007, so McFadden is no rookie and is at an age where he has recently been kept off the team by players younger than himself.
With 16 caps from six years at the international coal face, McFadden is defiant and not so much undeterred as nervously anticipating the prospect of France – like Ireland in the hurt box – arriving at the Aviva.
Wounded France
“We’ve only beaten France twice since Drico (Brian O’Driscoll) scored those three tries in Paris. So, twice since 2001? It’s about time we started beating the French. We are facing a team who are wounded and full of talent. They are dangerous and they can turn up and play some unbelievable rugby,” he says of the challenge.
The other is his personal engagement, perhaps on Saturday, with Maxime Medard, who is again in the French camp having played his way back from injury. They say coaches live and die by their decisions but sometimes wingers do too. Given the names that have populated the positions and his own experience he knows a decent performance probably isn’t enough. There are no tears.
“I’m approaching this challenge as the underdog,” he says. “I like that tag. When my back is against the wall I get the best out of myself.”
