Schmidt a ‘little bit broken’ by loss to All Blacks

Joe Schmidt couldn't explain it. The bad passes and the dropped balls and the missed kicks to touch. The Ireland head coach said he couldn't come up with a reason or an excuse and then, in almost the next breath, he spoke about a ‘short week’, niggles and uncertainty over naming the team.

He spoke about a flatness and a need to start well to build some confidence. We suspected that Ireland's confidence was brittle after such a tough 2019 but, listening to Schmidt, the full extent of the doubt in their minds was clear.