Schmidt sounds positive note

LEINSTER coach Joe Schmidt has had to weather early-season panic before and has advised Ireland’s fretful supporters and critics alike to reserve their judgments until the business gets underway in New Zealand next month.

The Kiwi took over at the Irish province last summer and had to contend with one newspaper leading the charge for his dismissal before October after his side lost three of their first four Magners League games, including one in Italy.

This was despite the fact that Schmidt was operating without many of his Irish internationals, most of whom paid a last fleeting visit to the province’s team base yesterday prior to today’s departure for the southern hemisphere.