Paul O'Connell: Joe Schmidt 'influence' still apparent in Irish rugby
ABOUT SCHMIDT: Paul O'Connell and Joe Schmidt before the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Paul O’Connell has no doubt that Joe Schmidt “still has a bit of an influence” over the Ireland players and team he once coached as the Kiwi returns to these shores this week with his Australian side.
Schmidt spent a decade in Ireland during which time he enjoyed huge success, first with Leinster and then the national team. His legacy has been evident already in the glowing references from former charges who will be opposing him this week.
“He's a fantastic coach,” said O’Connell who is in charge of Ireland’s forwards. “He was very successful with Leinster and very successful with Ireland and still has a bit of an influence in here in terms of how we play the game.
“I enjoyed it. I was an older player when he took over. I was probably hanging on a little bit and I was able to find my niche in what he was doing. I enjoyed how we played, but I probably enjoyed how he coached more than anything.”
O’Connell only played under Schmidt for a handful of seasons. The Kiwi took over from Declan Kidney as Ireland boss in 2013 and O’Connell’s career finished at the 2015 Rugby World Cup but it was more than enough time to leave a lasting impression.
The Munster man’s own coaching journey began with stints with the Ireland U20s and Stade Francais before a hiatus and a return to the game as part of Andy Farrell’s Ireland staff which has delivered considerable success since 2020.
He has no doubt but that Schmidt has coloured his coaching too.
“Yeah, I would say so. He was a teacher and he probably uses a lot of teaching principles in his coaching. He would always have a pretty clear plan and way of delivering the plan and very clear language about it.
“That’s probably the biggest thing I learned from him, the language was very … repetitive is the wrong way, but you weren’t hearing the same thing different ways. It was very clear on what was expected of you as a team and also in your position.
“He kept things simple and I would always be trying to copy that. He doesn’t let people do things wrong. You very often hear about players getting a bawling in a walk-through because he has standards as high in training as he does on the field.
“A lot of Irish coaches have probably tried to take pieces of those into their coaching and I have as well.”
Schmidt pitches up in his old Dublin haunt on the back of a deserved defeat in Edinburgh against Scotland but the Wallabies had impressed prior to that in beating England in London in a high-scoring thriller and walloping Wales in Cardiff.
It is a huge job. The Wallabies are one of the game’s traditional giants but they have hit rock-bottom in recent years, not least in last World Cup under the disastrous leadership of Eddie Jones. Signs of improvement are thankfully in evidence.
The hope is that they can be ultra-competitive next summer when Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions take the trip Down Under, and again in 2027 when the Aussies host the next World Cup. O’Connell has no doubts about the man at the wheel for them.
“You cannot not work hard in a Joe Schmidt team. You'll have a plan. You will know inside out how to deliver that plan. When you have a team of good, talented players that is half the battle. Be really clear on what your plan is and be really clear on how to deliver that plan. And Joe does that really well.”
Meanwhile, Tadhg Furlong, Jamie Osborne, Jacob Stockdale and Ryan Baird have all been ruled out of the game against Australia at the weekend which is being played to celebrate the IRFU’s 150th anniversary.
Also, Dave Heffernan has been released back to Connacht, Nick Timoney has returned to Ulster, with Jack Boyle and Alex Kendellen making the same journeys to Leinster and Munster respectively.
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