Filling Brian O’Driscoll void is a tough ask for Irish rugby

Let’s rewind two weeks.

A team with momentum pitches up at the home of a rival and fails to deliver a performance of the standard required. Cue reams of paper and hours of air time devoted to the emotive yet central question as to whether the coach — and his squad — are up to the job at hand.

Joe Schmidt won’t have to withstand the same buffeting Stuart Lancaster took on the back of England’s defeat in Dublin. The Ireland coach has banked too much credit for that to be an issue after a first defeat in eleven outings.