Joe Schmidt has moved the goalposts like Roy Keane did
It’s a great time to be involved in Irish rugby, says
It’s important to reflect and take stock of what has happened to Irish rugby this month. No harm to get it down on paper.
‘Unprecedented’ is a word that gets tossed around too liberally for my liking. But in November, Ireland was named world team of the year, they beat the All Blacks, prepared by the world coach of the year and at number 10, they had the world player of the year.
Had Johnny Sexton not been up there on that podium, it might have been Tadhg Furlong, Conor Murray or James Ryan. Had it been, could anyone demur?
Truly, we are living in an unprecedented period of exalted standards in Irish rugby.
The secret’s out. The surprise element is gone, and the wonderful thing is that everyone involved in the Irish set-up is perfectly fine with that.
We are soaring while no longer hoping at the same time that nobody else is paying attention.
And the best bit is that it’s all sustainable. The foundations are solid. It’s a great time to be involved in Irish rugby.
So for the first time in Six Nations history, there’s a genuine conversation over whether Ireland can do back-to-back Grand Slams.
When we won in 2009, was that question even asked? Now it’s virtually an expectation. That’s the unprecedented levels we are talking about.
In 2009 the Grand Slam winners weren’t good enough to generate such back-to-back talk. That’s the truth.
If Joe didn’t get world coach of the year after the year he’s had, then the judges would need to take a long look at themselves. But the reach of his work, the progress and change of mindset he has brought to Irish rugby extends all the way back to 2010 when he arrived here.
Schmidt hasn’t just changed the face of Irish rugby. He has changed Irish sport. In the future there will be academic papers written on the Schmidt Factor in Irish sport.
As much as people still go on about how Roy Keane’s attitude in Saipan 16 years ago changed the psychology of standards and preparation in Irish sport, Joe has moved the needle to a level of detail that is all about precision and process and will become the template for sports other than rugby for years to come.
Keane changed things by the force of his personality and his experience in a cutting-edge environment like Manchester United.
He had seen in 1999 and beyond what elite level sport must be about and railed against his own country not meeting the standards.
We can win the 2002 World Cup, he said. Why not?
Schmidt’s journey has been different in one respect. It’s why I re-emphasise the importance of having a New Zealander coach Ireland against the All Blacks.
But like Keane, he has come from a system — indeed a heritage — of being the best and never having to worry about the sort of inferiority complex that dogged Ireland and Irish sport for too long.
We were there to be there. Not to win.
I am as sure as I can be that if Schmidt had got a hold of Irish rugby back in 2005, we would have beaten the All Blacks before Chicago. And as good as we were becoming at that stage, Schmidt wouldn’t have had anything to work with like the raw ingredients he has at his disposal now.
We can probably trace the turning point back to his time in charge of Leinster — and the willingness and foresight of the IRFU to embrace that change in culture and drive the schools’ programme as they’ve done.
The result is Schmidt presiding over a generation of Irish player uncontaminated by any negativity when it comes to facing the All Blacks — the likes of James Ryan, Tadhg Furlong, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose.
The coach speaks about New Zealand to this generation of player like he would about Wales, England, South Africa or Australia.
For so long New Zealand was on a pedestal, and they were very good. We discussed them in hushed, reverential tones and it has taken one of their own to move Ireland on from that psychological
paralysis.
There’s no fear either that anyone in the Irish set-up will be getting carried away by November. The Six Nations next spring may just be the most competitive in recent memory.
One fixture stands out for me — away to Wales. It might have gone unnoticed at home that Warren Gatland’s side also swept their November series, including wins over Australia and South Africa.
If Schmidt can go to Cardiff and win in what could be a Six Nations decider on March 16, that is a massive statement of intent for the World Cup. But that will be a tough game.
By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be halfway down to Christchurch ahead of Crusaders’ return to pre-season. We’re on the pitch Monday.
However, things are already getting juicy in New Zealand ahead of Steve Hansen’s announcement regarding his intentions post-World Cup.
If Steve is planning something similar to Joe, the succession stakes won’t take long to heat up. If Schmidt is out of the picture as the next All Blacks coach, it might come down to Hansen’s assistant Ian Foster, perhaps with Warren Gatland on board, or my head coach at the Crusaders, Scott Robertson.
In terms of timing, it’s unlikely anyone could have choreographed their departure as well as Joe Schmidt. Should we really be surprised?
His decision to return home after the World Cup has been in the offing for some time. Whether his departure changes the dynamic of Irish rugby in some way won’t be apparent until the 2020 Six Nations.
But in keeping with the seamless success of November, he got his business done against the USA before it was confirmed he was leaving. By the time the Irish players return to camp in January, they will have played four rounds of the Heineken Cup.
They’ll be ready to move onto the next project, the defence of their Six Nations title.
The Irish players will return to a camp of unprecedented strength in depth. Schmidt has created real competition in every line. With the exception of three or four certainties, everyone else is playing for their slot.
Even at centre and in back three, there’s great competition now. It’s incredible.
Let’s examine the value of that: If there was an old boys club in that set-up, weak-minded players, there would already be a sizing up of Andy Farrell, getting onside with the new boss, watching boys language.
Are there really any such characters left in that Irish squad?
It’s a very Irish thing to say that the wheels might come off when Joe leaves. I don’t see it.
It’s unlikely that can happen with the process, the structure and the depth of squad that Joe has created and Andy Farrell has been part of.
Perhaps Andy will look at things differently and with the confidence that Joe has given the players, maybe Ireland will start looking to play an offload game.
There’s endless potential, because the players are there now. Even as late as the last World Cup in 2015, there were no real hard luck stories of talents not making the final Ireland squad, but next year there most definitely will be.
Andy didn’t find out Sunday night either that he was the next head coach.
We’ve been in touch briefly and he knows that an awful lot can happen over the next 10 months. For sure he has a plan in his head, but he knows that professional sport is strange.
Andy has a critically important job to do next year. 2020 can wait.
Jacques Brunel would like to be facing such challenges. The France coach’s concern now should be whether he has a job in 2019.
There’s a sense in France already that they need to almost look beyond next year’s World Cup and towards the 2023 renewal, when they are the hosts.
They’ve had a bizarre autumn again, getting caught on the line by South Africa, beating Argentina and losing at home to Fiji last Saturday when they were all over the place.
There is an acceptance now that French rugby cannot continue to have such inconsistency and instability in the ranks.
France needs a four or five-year plan to make them credible challengers in 2023.
Such is the chasm between Irish rugby and one of its greatest northern hemisphere rivals.
