I’LL MAKE MYSELF CLEAR

has been previously linked with the England hot-seat, while in the past he has talked about returning home to New Zealand to continue his coaching career.

“You’ve just got to sit down and make a decision,” said Schmidt.

“You can’t let it linger, for two reasons really.

“One, if I’m staying I want the clarity going forward.

“And if I’m not staying, I want the clarity for the IRFU because half the job is what gets done under your watch, the other half of the job is how you leave it so that somebody else can pick it up.

“And so I want nice clarity either way.”

Asked if he can file that away during a busy November – today’s clash with Italy in Chicago is followed by home games against Argentina, New Zealand and the USA in successive weeks – Schmidt replied: “I do find it easy.

“I’m really good at compartmentalising. I got home for a night on Wednesday night, it was great to catch up with the family and try to block out a few things.

“I’ve spoken to (wife) Kellie. Even the kids, talking to (son) Tim, just trying to make a decision that is the right one for all of us, really.

“But when these weeks come up, they’re so precious. You only get 12 or 13 of them in the year and you just maximise whatever you can put into them.

So it is easy. What’s not easy is that I struggle with decisions about the people we have.

“Some I spoke to last week, they were really tough conversations with guys who’ve made really clear improvements.

“If you’re talking about that aspect of the job, I wouldn’t miss doing that. I hate letting these young guys down because I know how hard they work.”