Shot of self-belief will stand to Ireland

Ireland sealed the deal to claim only our second Six Nations title in dramatic fashion at Paris on Saturday night but the long-term benefits we will derive from winning a tight game will stand to this side.

Having lost to New Zealand in the autumn and to England last month in games that were in the balance up to the final whistle it was important to get the experience of either coming from behind or protecting a lead against quality opposition.

Former Armagh All-Ireland winner Enda McNulty works with this Irish team on a part-time basis and he concentrates on all areas of mental preparation, which is crucial for high performance teams and individuals. The self-belief gained from winning away in Paris against a French team that improved massively will stand to this team as they will look to build on the tangible success the Six nations trophy provides. I mention tangible because I believe real progress has been made.

We have seen consistent improvements in our set-piece, defence, set phase attack and discipline and that’s a great starting point for measuring how this team has gone forward.

Next season our objectives will be to retain the Six Nations and try to win a World Cup. Before the Six Nations I felt the Irish management should use the competition to build a squad given that Schmidt had taken over late compared to most other international coaches in their World Cup cycles.

However, on consideration, Schmidt is a very results-focused coach and majors on teams doing their business in the now rather than the future. He has only one trophy each year to pitch for and just two in a World Cup year.

The summer tour to Argentina and the November internationals are better opportunities to have a look at players who have, up until now, been on the fringes. They will have a better opportunity to impress then as they will go into an organised and confident team. They will also be comfortable with the terminology and standards Joe insists on both on the pitch and off it.

It was great to see the IRFU brought some of the players who had trained as part of the wider group over the tournament to Paris as it’s often the players ranked 24 to 36 that dictate how successful the senior side is. It’s something Declan Kidney was also brilliant at in his time and it is appreciated massively by the players.

With Brian O’Driscoll retiring it’s worth looking at where we are as a group in terms of leadership and player development.

Looking for his successor in the 13 jersey we are none the wiser after the tournament, but I personally feel Ulster’s Jarrod Payne is in pole position, with Robbie Henshaw having the talent to feature too if he gets consistent game time there for Connacht next season.

Henshaw’s versatility could possibly work against him in the short term and if Connacht miss Heineken Cup rugby next season that will also hurt his chances.

Dave Kearney was one of the youngsters to impress during this Six Nations. He did well on the wing and showed he is a player who can play at international level.

Jack McGrath and Marty Moore also had good impacts off the bench in every game, although the French match was the first time I have seen Moore under pressure in the scrum since the laws changed. Iain Henderson got through a lot of hard work in the Italian match but unsurprisingly he didn’t reach the levels of performance that Peter O’Mahoney set. Jordi Murphy did well in the game time he got but with Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris due back he is likely to drop out of the reckoning if all are fit.

It wasn’t really a campaign where we saw many youngsters burst on the scene in the green jersey given we only started 18 players all tournament. But if I was to pick a player who might prove a bolt from the blue for next year’s Six Nations or the World Cup it would be Kieran Marmion — the Connacht scrum-half might push his way in as third choice.

Dave Kilcoyne and James Cronin will throw down the gauntlet to Jack McGrath. It’s not clear who Ireland’s third choice tighthead is but expect either Rodney Ah You or soon-to-be-naturalised Nathan White to contest the position with Stephen Archer and Declan Fitzpatrick.

With doubts over Luke Marshall at the moment due to his concussions, watch out for Stuart Olding, who is very talented, while another highly rated Ulster player is Michael Allen.

In the back row I am a big fan of Tommy O’Donnell, the kind of athlete who can add to our possession game. JJ Hanrahan may not have featured so far, with Schmidt using Madigan and Jackson, but he has the versatility, vision and skills to force his way into the scene.