Joe Schmidt has always been wary of the media machine

Throughout his extraordinarily successful reign with Leinster and Ireland, Schmidt endured a testing relationship with the press.

TESTING: Throughout his extraordinarily successful reign with Leinster and Ireland, Joe Schmidt endured a testing relationship with the press. Picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

It reported of a decree handed down from the IRFU top brass to a provincial coach, it led to a Leo Cullen apology and it instigated one of the biggest transfers in Irish rugby history. For Joe Schmidt, there was one article that demonstrated the influence and threat of the media.

The entire chapter on media in Schmidt’s autobiography opened with an oft-referenced Silas Bent quote: “Harmony seldom makes a headline.” His example of such coveted conflict was the Joey Carbery transfer saga. Schmidt and then IRFU performance director David Nucifora visited Leinster to see if Ross Byrne or Carbery were interested in an Ulster move. Cullen was unhappy but agreed to speak to the two players himself. A report in the Sunday Times stated Cullen had been told he needed to make a choice.