Schmidt just happy to have O’Driscoll on board once more

The ink had hardly time to dry on Brian O’Driscoll’s new one-year contract yesterday when Joe Schmidt was asked if there was any chance of the 34-year-old being persuaded to double the duration and play on through to the 2015 World Cup.

Schmidt chuckled at the suggestion, one made only slightly tongue in cheek, but the enquiry summed up even more than the IRFU’s statement and chief executive Philip Browne’s gushing words just how O’Driscoll’s influence continues to thumb its nose at Father Time.

“If you just suggest that to him, I think that would be fine!” said Schmidt.

“That would just about see him through the World Cup and that might be handy. Look, I’ve no doubt that this time next year, we may be saying the same thing.

“I guess we’re going to have to convince Amy and little Sadie of that because, inevitably, that puts a slightly different equilibrium into people’s lives. In the short term, I’m just delighted he’s here, for one. I’ll take that at this stage and hopefully that one goes really well for him.”

That’s all everyone wants.

Schmidt spoke about how no-one wants a good thing to end but, though O’Driscoll would cringe at the term, the fact is he is something of a national treasure and one who deserves an Alex Ferguson-type walk into the sunset.

He had dropped all sorts of subtle yet contradictory hints about his intentions prior to yesterday’s news but he has been consistent in his desire to retire on his own terms.

His list of injuries is legendary — the latest, a back spasm, sidelines him for tonight’s Amlin Challenge Cup final against Stade Francais at the RDS — yet there is another way to look at the numbers racked up this last decade and a half.

True, he may be 34 and he may have suffered physically in that time but Irish internationals are not flogged like their counterparts abroad. Combine that with his periods rehabilitating and O’Driscoll has played less rugby than you might expect.

His average appearances for club, country and the Lions stand at just over 21 per campaign and, with this being a Lions summer, he is unlikely to be called on by Leinster next year until early October, as was the case four years ago.

It is four seasons since he featured in more than half of his province’s games. That ratio is likely to continue and he spoke last week about how he has been allowed to tailor his training regime to one more suited to a man of his age.

Whether or not the appointment of Schmidt as Ireland coach was the deciding factor in playing on remains to be seen but Schmidt’s chances of success next term are all the greater for yesterday’s announcement, as Jamie Heaslip alluded to.

“As a squad member for club and country, he’s a great guy to have around. He’s fantastic at bringing younger players through, giving them time and setting an unbelievable example in training and how you approach the game. With Ireland as well, it’s great to have Brian around for another year, he just adds another dimension.

“He has a wealth of experience. This will be his fourth Lions tour, I don’t know how many European games he’s played, he’s Ireland’s most capped player. It’s fantastic to have someone like that around for another year and learn even more from him. And you never know, he might even go another year after this.”

Let the speculation begin. Again.