Technically and tactically our game plan is just right

Ireland’s performance against Wales showed this team is able to produce technically and tactically under the pressure of a home Six Nations game.

That’s three consecutive matches where this side has performed well and although that’s not a long run it is probably the first time since 2009 that we have seen that.

The All Blacks, Scottish and Welsh performances showed that Schmidt is very pragmatic in his attacking strategy. While he felt we could dominate the Scots by playing a direct ball-in-hand game, when he looked at the Welsh strengths and the stage he is at in terms of development with this Irish team he decided it would be foolhardy to take Wales straight on. That’s why he decided to play a game based on a lot of tactical kicking.