Schmidt: Players being at rape trial won’t affect preparations

Irish rugby boss Joe Schmidt has said the presence of captain Rory Best and fellow international Ian Henderson at the rape trial of their team-mates Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding will not affect preparations for tomorrow’s Six Nations opener against France.

Best and Henderson will start for Ireland against France in Paris tomorrow afternoon, but were on a day off on Wednesday when they attended Belfast Crown Court. The alleged victim took the stand on the same day.

Jackson, from Oakleigh Park in Belfast, and Olding, from Ardenlee St in the city, deny raping the woman at a house in south Belfast in June 2016.

Asked if the pair had been granted permission to attend, Schmidt said: “I’ve got no comment on any of that.”

When asked for his opinion on the players’ attendance at the rape trial, he replied: “We’re not in a position to comment on any of that. It’s a legal matter.”

However, he believes events outside the Ireland camp will not break the protective bubble around his squad. Given the seriousness of the charges, he said: “The bubble stays the same. The size and nature of events may change from week to week, but, you know, again, we don’t directly influence those.

“We don’t control those circumstances and they won’t directly influence what happens on Saturday and the players are very good at just staying focused on what they need to do in the very short term and anything else will be discussed or solved at a later date.”

Asked if he was confident Best and Henderson will be able to perform to their best given how they spent their day off, Schmidt replied: “I’m confident in the team. I think the team are ready to perform and you go into every Test match hoping that they will.”

The case continues.