Stephen Jones of The Sunday Times has made a career in standing in defiance against the prevailing opinion of Irish Rugby. On the 2009 Lions tour, for example, he was unsure of whether Paul O'Connell was the right choice as captain, and subsequently spent the tour writing that Nathan Hines and Simon Shaw should be selected in the second row ahead of the Irishman.
Despite this, we don't think Jones harbors a deep grudge toward Irish Rugby. Instead, we reckon he gets his kicks out of violently disagreeing with folk. (Unfortunately, Stephen Jones will not agree with this opinion, as he has blocked us on twitter. As he has everyone who has had the audacity to disagree with him).
Jones is at it again today, by showering Rob Kearney in praise for his performance at Murrayfield.
In today's paper, Jones has a little segment called STEPHEN JONES'S LIONSWATCH, which asks 'Who's Hot?' and "Who's Not?'.
Rob Kearney has snuck his way into the former camp:
Ireland's veteran full-back had a superb game at Murrayfield. He would be a comforting choice for the Lions with his excellence under the high ball but it was his renewed attacking bite which was surprising, and maybe, significant.
It is true that Kearney renewed his attacking vigor somewhat: a scorching second-half break was scuppered by slithering a foot into touch under pressure from Sean Maitland, while Kearney made more metres (105) than any of his teammates. But that second-half break burnished a performance that featured a little too much running directly into the first defender he met, while it is quite remarkable to praise Kearney's attacking game while ignoring that of Stuart Hogg. Defensively, Kearney made a crucial, try-saving intervention a minute shy of half-time, but was badly caught napping in no mans' land on the first Scottish try.
But that second-half break burnished a performance that featured a little too much running directly into the first defender he met, while it is quite remarkable to praise Kearney's attacking game while ignoring that of Stuart Hogg. Defensively, Kearney made a crucial, try-saving intervention a minute shy of half-time, but was badly caught napping in no mans' land on the first Scottish try.
Kearney did not impress everyone. This from the Scotsman's player ratings:
An off-kilter day all-round for the Leinster man who struggled to find his usual defensive rhythm. 4
Stephen Jones' Sunday Times colleague Mark Palmer gave Kearney a 6/10, versus the 9/10 he awarded Hogg.
Jones, meanwhile, is unconvinced by CJ Stander's Lions' credentials:
No-one could fault his effort yesterday but the rather one-dimensional nature of his play in this evidence may see him overtaken by players of greater vision and pace. He will never let you down, but can he break a game loose at the top level?
Warren Gatland was at the game, but it is hard to imagine he was impressed with Kearney more than he was with Hogg.
See Also: 'Never In Doubt' - The Scottish Media Reaction To Beating Ireland
See Also: RTE Took A Cheeky Dig At Ben Te'o At The End Of Coverage Of England/France
