Schmidt fires back at Pichot over Kleyn call

Agustin Pichot’s ears must have been burning yesterday at lunchtime as Joe Schmidt responded to the Argentine’s criticism of the decision to select a project player ahead of Devin Toner in Ireland’s World Cup squad.

The World Rugby vice-president has been vocal on the issue of eligibility for some time — he played a key role in the change of residency rules from three years to five — and his tweet about Jean Kleyn being preferred to Toner wasn’t the only barb to invite the ire of the Ireland coach this past week.

His assertion that Wales’ presence at the summit of the world rankings, despite their failure to beat the All Blacks for over 50 years, was also referenced by Schmidt who claimed that Warren Gatland shared his opinion that such input was an irrelevance.

“What is relevant is that under the laws of the game, as they were, we are entitled to pick guys who have qualified. Considering he is involved in World Rugby, he could have a look at what the rules were and not have so many things to say because, for us, it is tough enough to do our job and tough enough for me to have a conversation as I did with Dev.”

Schmidt was only warming up at that stage.

The Kiwi went on to point out that no more than six or seven per cent of the players used under him in over six years as Ireland coach were men who qualified under residency and added that, Jonathan Sexton’s two-year stint in Paris aside, every player to wear the green jersey in his time had been domiciled on these shores.

I’m not sure I’m the most qualified to comment as I am a blow-in myself and I’ll be blowing out soon enough so Gus Pichot has changed the rules and those rules will apply beyond this World Cup and they will apply as long as people feel that is the right residency rule.

Schmidt went further again, detailing how players such as CJ Stander and Bundee Aki had moved to this country lock, stock and barrel and committed to their local communities and provinces.

How long, he asked, should such people contribute in that manner before full acceptance could be forthcoming?

“I was put under a lot of pressure when Bundee played his first game,” he explained. “A lot of people wrote things but by the end of that first season he had played for Ireland he was named as Supporters’ Player of the Year.

“Now, I think that the majority – and maybe it is a silent majority – will fully get behind this squad and be fully supportive in the hope that we can do as well as we can in Japan.”