Joe Schmidt: Ireland had ‘been lulled into a false sense of security’

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt saw his team book their place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final this afternoon, but their performance left a lot to be desired.

Speaking after the game, Schmidt said Ireland had allowed two easy victories against lesser teams make them complacent.

"I think we have been lulled into a false sense of security having played two tier-two teams (Canada and Romania),” he said. “Italy had a win-at-all-costs attitude and that made it tough for us.

“And at times we made it tough for ourselves.”

The Kiwi was typically forthright about the problems in Ireland’s thinking after the narrow 16-9 victory against Italy.

“We were stretched at times, even the try (Keith Earls) came a little bit too easy, too early in the game and we switched off a bit,” Schmidt said.

“We believed things would happen rather than we had to make them happen and they almost made us pay for that.

However he acknowledged that the result was the important thing.

"Sometimes it's just not your day,” he admitted. “In the context of that we are delighted to get the result and qualify for the quarter-finals."

The Irish Examiner's Rugby Correspondent Simon Lewis gives his views on Ireland after their RWC clash with Italy at the Olympic Stadium.

Video by Dan Linehan.