Schmidt: Why Keatley got nod at No.10

Joe Schmidt has rolled the dice for tomorrow’s RBS 6 Nations opener in Italy as his Ireland squad begins its title defence at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Schmidt enjoyed a dream start to his tenure as head coach by winning the championship at his first attempt but this year the former Leinster boss is faced with some more difficult choices, his hand forced by several injuries to key players and a lack of game-time for a number of players returning to action after long lay-offs.

Throw a revenge mission in the Italian capital into the mix following a 22-15 defeat that ended his predecessor Declan Kidney’s tenure and Schmidt had plenty to ponder as he sat down with his management team this week for what he described as one of the longest selection meetings of his tenure. The net result was four changes from the side which signed off the Guinness Series in November with a win over Australia and a much altered replacements bench.