Jonny helped convince me to join, reveals Schmidt

JOE SCHMIDT savoured a major success in his first season as a head coach and hailed Heineken Cup final man of the match Jonny Sexton as one of the reasons he joined Leinster last summer.

The New Zealander left his role as backs coach with newly crowned French champions ASM Clermont Auvergne to replace the Stade Francais-bound Australian Michael Cheika, who had delivered Leinster their first Heineken Cup victory in 2009.

Cheika’s were big shoes to fill and Schmidt was far from convinced about stepping into them. That was until a meeting in the Burlington Hotel in early 2010 with Sexton and club captain Leo Cullen which went a long way to helping the Kiwi make his decision.