Coach Declan Kidney took charge of Ireland in the summer of 2008 and went on to steer his country's 'golden generation' to an historic Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009.

Kidney succeeded Eddie O'Sullivan as Ireland coach following a hugely successful second spell with Munster, during which time he claimed two Heineken Cups.

He was previously a mathematics teacher at Presentation Brothers College, Cork following a playing career at lower levels including stints at Presentation Brothers College, UCC and Dolphin. He took charge of the junior and senior rugby teams at the school and eventually took charge of the Ireland schools team, leading them to a Triple Crown in 1992.

Kidney then took charge of the Ireland U-19s team, winning the FIRA World Cup in 1998 before joining Munster. Kidney's reign at Munster began the club's romance with the Heineken Cup, as he guided them to two finals against Northampton and Leicester, only to come up short on both occasions. Following the defeat to Leicester, Kidney left Thomond Park in 2002 to become assistant coach to Eddie O'Sullivan in the Ireland international set-up.

Following two years with Ireland, Kidney returned to club rugby with Welsh region Newport Gwent Dragons, although he left his post before he had seen his team play a game in order to join Leinster. Kidney's time with Leinster was again short lived, and he exited his post there in 2005 amidst rumours of problems between the coach and leading players.

After his departure from Leinster, Kidney took up the challenge at Munster for a second time, leading them to cathartic Heineken Cup glory in 2006 and 2008. Following the 16-13 win over Toulouse in the 2008 final, Kidney was announced as the successor to Eddie O'Sullivan in the Ireland job. O'Sullivan had paid for a poor World Cup in 2007 and Six Nations in 2008, leaving Kidney with the task of getting the best out of the undeniably talented Irish squad.

Kidney enjoyed moderate success during the 2008 autumn internationals with wins over Canada and Argentina before leading Ireland to an historic Grand Slam - and their first since 1948 - in the 2009 Six Nations.

Ahead of the 2011 World Cup, Kidney signed a new contract with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to keep him at the helm of the national side until the end of the 2012-13 season.

After losing all of their warm-up matches, Kidney's side were under pressure to perform in the 2011 World Cup. And they did just that when they dispatched Australia in one of the shock results of the tournament. Despite hitting their straps at the right time, they ran into a resolute Wales side in the quarter-finals and were knocked out.

Come the 2012 Six Nations, Kidney opted for the tried and tested with Conor Murray the youngest member of his squad. They opened their campaign with a loss at home to Wales and never really found their form. They dropped to their lowest ever place in the IRB rankings - eighth - after their defeat to England in the final match of the campaign.