JOE’S FRENCH CONNECTION
Clermont stint laid ground for coach’s success in Ireland
‘France holds a special place in this nomadic Kiwi’s heart’
THE year was 2008. The setting was Thomond Park and Munster had French giants Clermont in their backyard for a crunch Heineken Cup encounter.
An already feral home crowd were whipped into a frenzy when firebrand Canadian lock Jamie Cudmore and Paul O’Connell started unloading punches on each other.
The fallout was a yellow card for O’Connell and Cudmore sent off. Amid all the chaos, fans and viewers wouldn’t have noticed a skinny coach on the touchline wearing a headset trying to calm the situation.
It’s a fair assumption that no one in the stands, or watching from that sofa at home, would have recognised that man. It was Joe Schmidt, Clermont’s assistant coach and a virtual unknown on the rugby scene.
Two years later, he would arrive on Irish shores as Leinster’s new supremo. He didn’t even have a Wikipedia page back then. Christened ‘Mr Rugby’ by Isa Nacewa, Schmidt was seen as a risk by many in Ireland at that time. But Clermont knew who they were losing. That three-year stint in France shaped Schmidt in many ways and gave him the confidence to become the forensic, headstrong and innovative operator he is today.
He may be an Irish citizen who has resided on this island for the best part of eight years, but France still holds a special place in this nomadic Kiwi’s heart.
Just last week, he spoke about the year his son, Tim, spent in Toulouse. A season with the Espoirs, Toulouse’s second-string side, saw him play alongside Romain Ntamack, the starting out-half for Les Bleus on Sunday.
‘You know, my son played a season with Ntamack in the Espoirs a few years ago and he said to me then, a couple of years ago, “Wow, they’ve got this kid who can play”,’ Schmidt recalled last week.
It was Vern Cotter who first gave Schmidt a shot at professional coaching with Bay of Plenty back in their native New Zealand. When Cotter departed for France to take the reins at Clermont Auvergne — a rugby mad town with a bearpit of a home ground in Stade Marcel Michelin — Schmidt made the next step in his coaching journey with the Auckland Blues.
One day, Cotter came calling again for his old sidekick’s services. Schmidt was reluctant to make the move. His friend and mentor Dave Syms told him he’d be a ‘bloody idiot’ if he didn’t take up the offer. The rest is history.
The Cotter-Schmidt dream team was back together as they sought to secure a first Top 14 title in Clermont’s history.
Schmidt’s remit was running the French side’s attack and with the likes of Aurelian Rougerie, Brock James and Napalioni Nalaga on the books, he quickly established Clermont as an attacking phenomenon.
There was plenty of heartbreak along the way with Clermont losing three consecutive domestic finals between 2007 and 2009. Interestingly, they were beaten 22-13 by Perpignan in the 2009 finale — a side coached by Jacques Brunel, the current French coach.
Clermont and Schmidt would get their revenge the following season. The perennial bridesmaids of French club rugby, Clermont finally captured the holy grail, the coveted Bouclier de Brennus shield, with a 19-6 victory over Perpignan at Stade de France. It was their 11th final and their first title. The city spent a week celebrating with Cotter and Schmidt canonised for their exploits.
Schmidt would leave for Leinster the following summer. Having won the hearts and minds of the Clermont faithful, he was now masterminding their downfall.
With a domestic title finally captured, Clermont turned their attention to Europe, but a new force in the Heineken Cup was standing in their way: Schmidt’s Leinster.
In his first year in charge at the province, Schmidt faced his old employers in Pool 2.
There’s a story that prior to Leinster’s trip to the Auvergne in 2010, Schmidt had brought his squad in for a video analysis session of Clermont. On a big screen, Schmidt was talking through the mastery of his former side’s back play. There were a few smirks and sideways glances from the Leinster players when Schmidt began referring to his former players by their nicknames.
‘That was a great line there from “Roro”,’ Schmidt observed, referring to Rougerie.
There was still an affinity there for Les Jaunards. There was no split loyalty, however. Schmidt would mastermind a glorious victory over Clemont in an unforgettable Heineken Cup semi-final the following season, with Leinster defending a five-minute siege on their line in the dying stages.
More trophies would follow for Schmidt in Ireland, but he has never forgotten his apprenticeship in France. Back in November, he met Mario Ledesma for a beer when Argentina were in Dublin to play Ireland in the autumn internationals.
Ledesma was a fiery and mobile hooker during his playing days under the Cotter-Schmidt brains trust. He has since followed them into the coaching ranks. Schmidt was always seen as the good cop at Clermont with Cotter providing the hard edge.
‘When I heard he was really ruthless as a head coach I was surprised because he wasn’t like that as an attack coach. But there you go,’ Ledesma recalled.
‘In front of the players you have to, as an assistant you don’t have to be, but as head coach, he is the boss. I tried to be really tough as an assistant and I wasn’t very good.’
As another France squad roll into town struggling for form and consistency, you’d wonder what Schmidt could achieve if he was at the helm. He understands the culture, the structures and speaks the language.
He insists that he is finished with coaching after the World Cup but Bernard Laporte may tap him on the shoulder at Lansdowne Road and seek to make another French connection.