SCHMIDT HAS GOT IRELAND’S PRIORITIES STRAIGHT
Powered by the dictatorial brilliance of Joe Schmidt, Irish rugby finally has its priorities straight... now for the World Cup
BACK in the early days of Joe Schmidt’s time with Leinster, we got a tip-off ahead of a big European Cup pool game away to Montpellier. A source close to the camp claimed Cian Healy was out injured and Jack McGrath would be brought in to cover Heinke van der Merwe at loosehead prop. McGrath was very much a rookie, with only one start for Leinster, and having to bring him in against the French side’s monster scrum could be a serious problem that weekend.
It was a decent line to have before the team announcement later that week – not back page, but definitely a snippet of news worth printing.
When it appeared the following day, Leinster and their coach were not happy and contact was made.
Why had Healy’s injury been made public? Did we not know it would hand Montpellier potentially vital information ahead of the weekend’s clash? Did we not want Leinster to win? Was that not better for Irish rugby?
It was a wholly illogical reaction, verging on the naive, but even when the explanation that newspapers were not in the employ of Leinster, or the IRFU, was offered up it did not wash.
There was a new boss in town and he was all about control.
THE REVAMP
WE are a few weeks away from the six-year anniversary of the worst result in Ireland’s rugby history — the 60-0 humiliation in Hamilton against New Zealand.
What is frequently forgotten is that Ireland came within a dodgy Nigel Owens decision and a Dan Carter drop goal of a first win over the All Blacks the week before.
In many ways, those seven days summed up Ireland at that time — a talented team that struggled to gain consistency following their Grand Slam success in 2009.
But, though he never went public with his frustrations, head coach Declan Kidney was operating within a system that did not then prioritise the national side — the European Cup largely ruled the roost and provinces were allowed sign overseas players in key positions with scant thought given to the effects on the Ireland team.
The chronic lack of options at tighthead, laid bare by Tom Court’s destruction at Twickenham in 2012, summed up the skewed thinking and Kidney could not survive it.
In the five years since Schmidt took over, the change in focus from the provinces to the Ireland team has been dramatic.
Schmidt, with the full backing of the IRFU and high performance director David Nucifora, set about getting Irish rugby’s priorities straight and now there is no question about which team sits on top of the Irish rugby tree.
Nor is there any doubt as to who is calling the shots — and there is the roadkill to prove it.
THE HARD LINE
FORMER Leinster coach Matt O’Connor spoke out against the IRFU’s player management scheme and directly impinged upon Ireland’s squad development plans by consistently picking Kiwi Jimmy Gopperth over Ian Madigan. His time was cut short and Leo Cullen was brought in early. Given that he had landed the Pro12 and narrowly lost a European Cup semi-final to Toulon, it was deemed harsh, by some, at the time but Cullen’s side have reclaimed the summit of European rugby while bringing through a host of Irish qualified players into the national squad. Matt who?
Ruan Pienaar wanted to see out his career with Ulster but Ireland needed more scrum-half options and the South African was let go. Cue tear-stained uproar. Did the IRFU not know he was one of Ulster’s greats, that he loved Belfast, that his kids were born there?
They did and they didn’t care. They also knew Pienaar was into his 30s, making huge money, that Ulster had won nothing on his watch and that Schmidt needed more options behind Conor Murray. A year on and John Cooney is on the plane to Australia after a sensational season in Ravenhill.
Simon Zebo (right) decided to pursue a career ambition of playing in the Top14 and was immediately ruled out of Ireland contention on the justifiable basis that his preparations for the World Cup would be compromised.
More outrage more deaf ears and then Jacob Stockdale emerges as one of the glittering lights of Ireland’s Grand Slam success with his electric anticipation and recordbreaking try-haul. Au revoir, Simon, enjoy Paris. Leinster storm their way back to the summit of Europe but are carrying three quality out-halves in Sexton, Ross Byrne and Joey Carbery, while other provinces are struggling in that critical area.
Schmidt and Nucifora pay a visit in the week of a Champions Cup knockout game, Leinster are miffed but Ireland’s need is paramount and, though all three make the plane for Oz, only two are likely to be at the province next season.
Tadhg Beirne got the bigger picture when turning down a far bigger offer to stay at Scarlets in order to join Munster and further his Ireland dream. He joins Cooney on the plane Down Under. Ruthless resource management is never going to win broad approval but any qualms will be swiftly forgotten if Ireland perform well at a World Cup for the first time, in Japan next year. That is the destination and this season showed how everyone needs to get on board – or to put it another way, it’s Joe’s way or the highway.
THE BOTTOM LINE
THE Irish rugby media were not happy this year. There were issues over a perceived lack of access compared to other nations and discontent at what was seen to be a high-handed approach to Ireland’s dealings with the fourth estate.
Schmidt has never been comfortable with the fourth estate but, however justified their angst, nobody outside the media truly cares about how the media are treated and, as Ireland marched to glory last March, the rumblings died down amid the rush to acclaim Schmidt’s Grand Slam heroes.
Success always sells.
THE WINNING CLIMATE
RUMOURS of Schmidt’s dictatorial coaching approach have been fluttering about for some time.
There has been talk of a climate of fear, with vicious video review sessions and unrelenting scrutiny surrounding players’ capacity to fall into line with a tactical plan worked out to the nth degree.
The extent of all this is not known – what is known is that it works. Ireland were, by some distance, the best prepared and most accurate team in this year’s Six Nations.
And, what was most striking was their capacity to deal with whatever was thrown at them — be it injury setbacks or the need to execute a winning score with the last play of the game — as happened in the run-up to Sexton’s wonderstrike at the Stade de France. If players are unhappy with the Schmidt method, it was hard to discern among the beaming faces celebrating their Grand Slam win in Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day.
THE FUTURE
THIS has been a phenomenal season for Ireland. Another Grand Slam and Six Nations title (their third in four years), 12 successive victories propelling the national side up to second in the world rankings and everything accomplished with an air of unruffled assurance more usually associated with the All Blacks — the only team now rated higher.
It has also been a seminal season, in the sense that never before have we seen such clarity of thinking and unity of purpose in Irish rugby to ensure the success of the national side trumps all other considerations — as it always should have.
It has been a hard journey from the humbling of Hamilton six years ago to the Twickenham triumph two months ago and there have been casualties on the route but Ireland are now, finally, in a position to tackle an abject record of World Cup failure stretching back over eight tournaments and more than 30 years.
At the heart of it all is Joe Schmidt and 2017/18 provided the hardest evidence yet that this Kiwi can take Ireland where they have never been on rugby’s biggest stage.
And it’s all about control.