Resilience was the key for Ireland in 6 Nations, says Joe Schmidt

Joe Schmidt began celebrating Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations triumph by paying tribute to the resilience of his Ireland players for the way they bounced back from defeat in Wales to deliver a 40-10 thumping of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Ireland had seen their record-equalling run of 10 successive victories come to an end along with their hopes for a Grand Slam in Cardiff nine days ago, the 23-16 defeat turning the championship into a dramatic three-way chase for points on Saturday with the Welsh and England joining Schmidt’s side in the hunt for silverware.

And after Ireland delivered a four-try to one defeat of the Scots at Murrayfield, before watching England come up short by six points in a nerve-wracking thriller against France, the victorious head coach for the second year in a row spoke about the characteristic of which he was most proud in his Paul O’Connell-led squad.