Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JOY OF SIX? IT WORRIES ME SICK
Schmidt admits tournament is a rollercoaster of emotion
JOE SCHMIDT confesses he has a love-hate relationship with the Six Nations.
For no matter how ready he feels Ireland are, a scan at how the other contenders are shaping up generates a fear factor in the wily Kiwi.
Schmidt took a quick break from Ireland’s five-day camp in sunny Spain to make the championship’s official launch in the dreary cold and wet of south-west London yesterday.
Ten days out from a traditionally tough opener in Paris, the 52-year-old admits his major concern isn’t winning back the title after England’s success in the past two years.
Instead, it’s having his youngest-ever Six Nations squad fully prepared for that opening day Stade de France encounter against new-look France under recentlyappointed coach Jacques Brunel.
“It’s always time to win the tournament,” stated Schmidt. “We would’ve loved to have done it the last two years when we finished third and second.
“But England, you talk about favourites, they were second behind us the two years previous to the two they’ve won.
“They’ve such a strength in depth that they make other people’s times to win the tournament few and far between at the moment.
“Wales don’t finish fifth very often – they won a couple of tournaments before that. They’ll be desperate to show they’re back.
“It’s going to be incredibly tough. “I’ve thought more about France and more about us than I ever have because we’ve got the youngest squad we’ve had.
“We have to try to be competitive, hit the ground running and put our best performance together in that first 20 minutes in France – let alone 40 minutes, let alone 80. “France are a little bit different. In the past, some of their players would’ve had to play this weekend. “That’s not the case now. They can protect 30 players to get that fresh approach. That breathing space will breathe a bit of life into them. “France have got a new opportunity and they’re going to respond to that. They’re going to feel they owe the coaches their very best effort.
“They’ll owe 80,000 fans the same thing so it’s a complicated match for us.
“It’s one that has us pretty nervous.”
England’s colourful coach Eddie Jones referred to the “darlings of Europe” that his formidable Red Rose machine will face and tried to heap pressure on Ireland, insisting they’re tournament favourites. By contrast, Schmidt was more guarded in his comments - though he did admit Ireland are aiming for a top-two finish. And French coach Brunel clearly respects the job Schmidt is doing.
He stated: “Ireland’s a very confident opponent, with very high quality.
“It’s an unpredictable tournament, but the first game is the most difficult.”
Schmidt recalled how Les Bleus were unlucky not to beat England last year - and came close to going 10-0 up in Dublin before the hosts recovered.
He said: “I’d be a quiet optimist, but I’m also a realist and I know how tough it is.
“Every year I go, ‘Wow, I think we’ve progressed a bit, worked hard and we are where we are and it’s not a bad place to be’.
“Then I look at our opponents and go, ‘Wow, they look good’. That’s the nature of it.
“I’ve a love-hate relationship with the Six Nations – but we’ve the youngest squad we’ve had and there’s a degree of excitement in that.
“It doesn’t mean we change the way we play – it means some players will play slightly differently.
“It’s going to be interesting. I look at other teams as well and see the way they’re trying to develop.
“The more it changes, the more it stays the same.”