Schmidt’s dilemma: Stick with Sexton or twist with Carbery

In a season that keeps on giving for Irish rugby, a series win against a major southern hemisphere superpower for the first time since 1979 would offer the perfect ending.

With just 12 tests confirmed and the likelihood of three more pre-tournament warm-up games to come between now and Ireland’s World Cup opener against Scotland in Yokohama in September 2019, Joe Schmidt is ready to negotiate the homeward bend.

A number of boxes were ticked last season in terms of integrating a host of exciting new talent in Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Leavy, Jordon Larmour, and Jacob Stockdale into the demands of international rugby without compromising the competitiveness of the side.