Schmidt’s time to reflect before Six Nations battles commence

And now the wait.

As the exertions of that epic performance against New Zealand fade, the Irish players are moving on from four weeks in camp to provincial preparations for the next rounds of Heineken Cup pool qualifying.

For Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt, though, there are more than nine weeks before he sends a team into action once more and is able to lay down the next foundation stone in the building of a side for the 2015 World Cup.