Schmidt prepares for Ireland's second symphony

Like a young rock band bursting onto the scene full of blistering bravado, Joe Schmidt’s new Ireland have made their splash on the rugby landscape.

Now comes the difficult second album.

No-one should complain about the early success delivered in Schmidt’s first Six Nations campaign since succeeding Declan Kidney as head coach last summer but when the first act goes so well, as it has with a first championship title in five years brought about by a victory in Paris that broke a 14-year drought, it sets the bar high.