Joe Schmidt: The little guy who has made a big impression
For a group of Joe Schmidt’s former charges, there was something very familiar about the way Ireland secured a rare Grand Slam with a win over England.
Before his attention to detail, ability to connect with players and forward thinking attitude helped steer the Emerald Isle to the top of Northern Hemisphere rugby, they left a resounding impact on those he worked with in New Zealand.
His tenacious attitude was on display in his playing days for Manawatu¯ . He debuted in 1988, but by 1990 former All Black halfback Mark Donaldson had taken over as coach and was quick to show Schmidt the door.
‘‘I just thought he was way too light,’’ Donaldson said.
‘‘He was little. I remember I sort of laughed at him and said ‘Look mate, you are really doing well to do what you do in club footy but you just won’t make my cut’,’’ Donaldson said.
Instead of getting disillusioned, Schmidt pushed on.
‘‘I really came to admire him. He went away to the gym - and no one was going to the gym in those days - and he put on about 11 or 12kg. He came back the next season in a totally different bloke.
‘‘He was still bloody small but he caught my attention because he said ‘Right, you have put up a barrier, I have gone through it and this is what I have done’. That probably is the sort of insight as to why he is so resilient and resourceful as a coach.’’
His playing career ended after an achilles injury, which started him on his coaching path.
His stops along the way included stints with the New Zealand Secondary Schools, Bay of Plenty and Blues assistant coach.
One-test All Black Kevin Senio played for Schmidt during his reign with the Steamers.
He said Schmidt’s ability to connect with players stood out. ‘‘Schmidy had a real attention to detail and was able to communicate that to us players and give us an improved understanding of how and why we played the game a particular way.’’
Senio did not know it at the time, but he first crossed paths with Schmidt in schoolboy rugby. In 1996 he was playing for the Kelston Boys’ High School against the Schmidt-coached Palmerston North Boys’ High School in the national first XV final.
‘‘I was really impressed with the way they were drilled. They were a leaner team than we were, but they moved us around the park and you could tell they had a really good understanding of the game.’’
Michael Pettman captained that Palmerston North side and also played for him in the Manawatu¯ Under 16s. ‘‘We never had any superstars, but we all played together and played for each other and he was really good at getting that from you.’’
Shane Ratima, one of Pettman’s team-mates, said Schmidt was ahead of his time.
‘‘We was bringing forward ideas back then that are common practice now. He was recording all our games and would get us in the classroom - I am talking about in the days when you’d have to transfer the video onto VRC - and he would play it back to us on VCR.’’
The now Manawatu¯ Under 19s coach said Schmidt was the best coach that he played under.