Joe Schmidt to quit Ireland: Lessons too valuable for sport alone

Most of us lucky enough to enjoy a good proportion of our allotted three score and ten come to understand, one way or another, that there is no such thing as a relationship that lasts forever. Even so, parting is, as Juliet assured Romeo, such sweet sorrow. Juliet was stoical, because she expected to meet Romeo again, but yesterday’s announcement that Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt will quit coaching after next year’s World Cup in Japan has a finality that an unknowing, still innocent Juliet had yet to imagine.

Thankfully, Schmidt’s parting will be on the very best of terms — how else could it be? His achievements, since he took the helm at Leinster just eight years ago and became Irish coach in 2013, are such that his impact has reached far beyond sport. It is not alickadoos’ bluster to suggest he has been one of the most inspiring figures in Irish life over most of the last decade. His achievements as a coach, manager, and standard setter, who has helped so many Irishmen realise potential, is unprecedented. In the context of international, professional sport, only the O’Briens of Coolmore can be considered in the same bracket. Anyone who doubts that need only consider the record. Under his leadership, Ireland won three Six Nations Championships and recorded their first-ever wins over his native New Zealand. Schmidt’s first head coaching role in Europe was with Leinster, beginning in 2010. He brought longed-for success, reaching six finals and winning four in three years. He was central in laying the foundation culture that has made Leinster the most successful Irish team of all time.