All on the line for Joe

JOE SCHMIDT’S season will live, or die, in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Friday evening. Defeat the Welsh and an epic Championship showdown with Eddie Jones’ mighty England beckons. Lose to our difficult neighbours, and the same game against England becomes no more than another opportunity to take them down a peg or two. And how often have we been in that position down the years?

However, there might be another cost to losing to the Welsh.

Overnight, the incredible memory of finally overpowering the All Blacks might shrink. That victory may suddenly be viewed as a mugging of a dozy and offcolour world champions.

A mid-table Six Nations ending would also, of course, do scant justice to a year in which Ireland managed to defeat all three Southern Hemisphere powers. It would tell us that we remain brave and plucky, but that we are incapable of living up to our potential.

The stakes in Cardiff, therefore, are incredibly high – both enriching memories and even richer ambition are up for grabs.