Schmidt shrugs off his sceptics as Slam nears
Ireland coach annoyed by criticism of style Victory over Scotland today could clinch title
It took a couple of weeks to get his riposte in, but Joe Schmidt was never going to let it slide. Asked again about Warren Gatland’s ‘ballin-play’ jibe – the suggestion from the Wales head coach following his team’s 37-27 defeat in Dublin a fortnight ago, that Wales tended to win games against Ireland whenever the ball was in play for more than 44 minutes, whereas Ireland tended to win whenever ball-inplay time dipped below 37 minutes – Schmidt had an answer prepared.
“It’s funny you mention that,” Schmidt said (meaning it was nothing of the sort). “There were eight tries in the [Wales] game, five of them scored by us. That led to about eight to 10 minutes of game time being spent on conversions. If they had stopped us scoring then they would have got more game minutes.” Ouch.
Schmidt, of course, is famously prickly about any perceived criticism of his team’s style. For all that Ireland are chasing a record 11th consecutive win at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon when they face Gregor Townsend’s resurgent Scotland; for all that they are on the verge of their third Natwest Six Nations title in five years under the Kiwi (Ireland will secure it this afternoon should they win and England lose in Paris, or even if they win with a bonus point and England fail to do so); for all that victory would open up the tantalising prospect of a historic Grand Slam at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day next week, Schmidt is clearly irked by the suggestion that his team do not play the most attractive rugby.
Take this on Ireland’s gain-line power against Wales, and whether they might seek to adopt the same tactics against Scotland: “It’s ironic you say that, because I’d probably challenge people to do a little bit more homework.
“I think there was some really good tight play against Wales and some stuff that went through the middle, but there was some stuff down the edges as well. Johnny Sexton’s pass for Jacob Stockdale’s try, that’s still one of the best passes you’d see in world rugby.”
Or this on the suggestion that Ireland do not risk as many offloads per game as other nations: “At this stage we’ve probably made the third most offloads: it’s an area where people would love to beat us with a stick, and it’s probably overlooked by people that there is some continuity to our play.”
There was no ‘probably’ about it, of course. Ireland are third in the offloads charts, jointly with England, having produced 24 in three matches (France, incidentally, are top on 33 and Scotland, perhaps surprisingly, are bottom on 16).
But it was the way Schmidt had the stat prepared and ready to go which was more noteworthy than the number itself. A former schoolteacher with an incredible attention to detail, it is Schmidt’s exacting nature and tactical brilliance which makes Ireland such a force these days.
Are Ireland the best team in the world to watch? Probably not. They could have played for days in Paris last month and not found their way to the try line.
Importantly, though, they found a way to win – with that extraordinary 40-phase build to Sexton’s dropped-goal. And they have grown in confidence since.
Can’t score tries? Thirteen in two games would suggest otherwise.
Can’t throw it wide? Stockdale has eight tries in seven Tests since making his debut last summer.
Over-reliant on Sexton? He had a bit of a stinker against Wales, but again they managed.
Lack depth? Against Wales, Chris Farrell, Andrew Porter and James Ryan stepped in for injured Lions Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson… and all three might have been named man of the match. Farrell eventually got it, and while the Munster centre is out today, Garry Ringrose is not a bad player to be able to call upon.
With Furlong back at tighthead, and some serious impact players on the bench in the likes of Henderson, Jack Conan and Jordan Larmour, it is going to take some effort from Scotland – who have not won an away game in the Six Nations for eight years against anyone but Italy – to stop the Ireland juggernaut from rolling into Twickenham on March 17 with a Grand Slam on the line.