Kidney’s Ireland begin their three-match autumn international series with a fixture against an Australian side boosted by their victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Sunday’s meeting at GAA headquarters has a 3pm kick-off.
Head coach Kidney is hoping Ireland build on their Grand Slam heroics of last March, but he stressed that the team was under no illusion about the size of the task facing them in the coming weeks with Test matches against Australia, followed by fixtures with Fiji and World champions, South Africa.
“Last year we played one Tri-Nations team and came a bad second to New Zealand. They (Tri-Nations teams) are the next target for us,” Declan Kidney pointed out.
“This year we have four games against Tri-Nations teams and we play Australia twice; they are the first game of our international season and the last game.
“We’re under no illusions as to the size of the task that we’re up against and we know the difficulties and the challenges that we are up against. Ireland have played Australia 10 times in the professional era and only won two of them.
“Ireland v Australia matches have always been good clashes and we are looking forward to it.’
“Our job is to put in the best performance we can against Australia. That is definitely the priority. Have we been working on plans towards the World Cup in 2011? We certainly have, towards fixtures and planning. That is what we have been doing.
“It is a time to park that now and get ready for this because you want to get you want to build momentum and you want to build confidence.
“Working towards the next World Cup, given that Australia are in our group, means that we should concentrate 100% on playing Australia.”
Ireland’s Australian-born backs coach, Alan Gaffney said there are clear signs that the Wallabies are developing into a top class team.
Former Munster coach Gaffney, who also spent time as back coach to the Wallabies said: “I think Australia are very close to being a very good side. I don’t think they are too far away at the present time.
“There are areas of their great, I am sure, they would like to improve on. But across the board now, I think they are a very good side.
“They have a good set-piece generally. Their scrum is very competitive now where there were years in the past when it hadn’t been. And they have a very good backline.
“They have the makings of a very good team.”
Meanwhile, Munster’s new South African prop Wian du Preez has been named on the Springboks’ replacements’ bench for their Test match with France in Toulouse this Friday night (7.45pm).
Du Preez, who is due to join up with Munster squad in time for the December 5 Magners League tie with the Ospreys, is the only uncapped player included in the Springboks’ 22 for the Test match with France at the Stade Municipal.
Munster confirmed this week that Cheetahs loosehead prop du Preez will join the Magners League champions on a short term contract once his commitments with the Springboks current tour of Europe is complete later this month.
With Marcus Horan and Dave Ryan ruled out through illness and injury respectively until after Christmas, and Darragh Hurley also on the injured list, Munster confirmed that the 27-year-old du Preez would be joining the squad until the end of January.
Du Preez was originally omitted from the Springboks squad for the current tour, which ends with a Test match against ireland at Croke Park on Saturday, November 28.
However, he was called up to Peter de Villiers squad over the weekend along with Cheetahs team-mate Adriaan Strauss.
Subject to obtaining clearance from his home Union, obtaining a work permit and passing the normal medical procedures, du Preez will join up with the squad in time for the Ospreys game which takes place the week before Munster resume their Heineken Cup campaign against Perpignan at Thomond Park on Friday, December 11.
Colm Kinsella
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