Schmidt ‘intense, polarising’

Life under incoming All Blacks selector Joe Schmidt is not for the faint of heart, says former Ireland international Stephen Ferris.

The end of Ferris’ career overlapped with the start of Schmidt’s tenure as Ireland head coach, and Ferris found the Kiwi highly professional to deal with as he followed up on the injury that would ultimately end Ferris’ career prematurely.

Ferris also said that Schmidt had been an ‘‘absolute gentleman’’ in their post-career interactions, but revealed that the 56-year-old’s intense coaching style was far from everyone’s cup of tea,

‘‘Look, some players absolutely loved him, some players couldn’t stand him,’’ Ferris told Stuff. ‘‘Some players didn’t like his coaching style.

‘‘He couldn’t switch off. You couldn’t stand at the side of the pitch and have a conversation about having a pint last Friday night, or going to the cinema with your missus.

‘‘It was just rugby, rugby, rugby, rugby.

‘‘He got stuck into players as well. Sometimes, a player might have been a little vulnerable, and to Joe that was maybe a sign of weakness.

‘‘He certainly got stuck into a lot of guys.’’

Schmidt was Ireland coach from 2013-2019, a tenure that was full of high points. He won the Six Nations three times and beat the All Blacks twice, briefly taking Ireland to No 1 in the World Rugby rankings.

However, there were also quarterfinal exits at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and 2019, when Ireland lost to Japan in the pool stage and the All Blacks in the last eight.

Ferris said the Rugby World Cups would leave a ‘‘sour taste’’ for Schmidt, and said that his style worked best with players who were already resilient.

‘‘You’ve got to have a strong mentality to be able to live with Joe Schmidt,’’ Ferris said.

Ireland, under coach Andy Farrell, tour New Zealand in July.