No sign yet of Schmidt applying the brakes

He has admitted to being tempted into the Ireland role, in part, by the carrot of a less hectic pace of life, so it was ironic yesterday to hear Joe Schmidt talk about being whisked through the suburban traffic of Paris on a motorbike at 140kph.

This was supposed to be the type of week where the Kiwi’s more measured workload kicked in, one spent standing back from the gritty coal face of rugby as the four provinces inhaled collectively before the gut-busting start to the Heineken Cup.

It hasn’t quite worked out like that given he found himself chasing his tail after a late-night return from France blurred into a guest speaker slot at the Irish Management Institute (IMI) and an afternoon meeting at IRFU HQ.