Joe Schmidt aware a good performance guarantees nothing against England

From Eddie Jones’ crass comments to World Rugby’s removal of assistant referee Marius van der Westhuizen, there has not been a dull moment in the build-up to Ireland’s bid for Grand Slam glory at Twickenham.

No wonder Joe Schmidt yesterday admitted he would settle for a 3-0 win over England if that is what it would take to get his team, already NatWest 6 Nations champions for 2018, over the line and take their place in history.

South African official van der Westhuizen was yesterday relieved of his duties as one of Australian referee Angus Gardner’s assistants for tomorrow’s championship finale after World Rugby decided his involvement in an England training session was unacceptable during the build-up to a Test match of this magnitude.