Wood warns Zebo must now work ‘incredibly hard’ to impress Schmidt

Keith Wood believes Joe Schmidt’s decision to overlook some “flair players” proved pivotal in Ireland’s Six Nations success.

Schmidt, who guided the national side to a Championship title in his debut season, was criticised in some quarters for not including the likes of Simon Zebo in his teams this spring.

However Ireland and Lions legend Wood believes the head coach’s pragmatic approach to selection fundamentally “de-risked some of the things Ireland do”.