Schmidt sticking to simple game-plan as O’Connell and D’Arcy return

RBS SIX NATIONS:

The six-day turnaround between Ireland’s dates with Scotland and the Welsh has limited the home team to just 90 minutes of onfield preparation and the results can be seen in Schmidt’s team and the coach’s stated approach to the 80 minutes.

Gordon D’Arcy returns to inside centre, as expected, in place of Luke Marshall but Schmidt denied it was by way of any pre-planned plot and claimed it was instead a result of the draining effect the opener had on Marshall.