Six Highlights from Joe Schmidt’s Six Years in Charge of Ireland
“Joe Schmidt coaching the Irish rugby union team” by OvalDigest (CCO 1.0 PDD)
Joe Schmidt spent six very successful years coaching Ireland’s national rugby union team. He left the role after the 2019 Rugby World Cup where he was succeeded by his defence coach and assistant Andy Farrell. In celebration of Ireland’s former boss from New Zealand, here are six major highlights from Schmidt’s time in charge.
Six Nations Success
“2014 Six Nations Championship: France vs Ireland” by Cangadoba (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Within a year of leaving Leinster for the Irish national job, Schmidt had already steered the team to the Six Nations Championship. A narrow 22-20 away win in the Stade de France sealed the first silverware of his reign.
Winning in Argentina
Ireland may have gone on tour to Argentina as Six Nations champions, but they had never won a Test away to the Pumas. Schmidt took the visitors to consecutive victories over their South American opposition and a first-ever winning series there.
Record tenth consecutive Test triumph
During Ireland’s defence of their Six Nations crown, they also equalled a record of 10 successive victories. Matching what the vaunted side of 2009 did wasn’t easy, but a 19-9 win courtesy of Robbie Henshaw’s try and the kicking of Jonny Sexton sent the Aviva Stadium in Dublin into raptures.
Miracle in Newlands
To play three-quarters of any rugby match a man down takes some doing, but to do so on tour in South Africa in the opening Test of the 2016 series in the rainbow nation and still somehow win is arguably Ireland’s best performance under Schmidt. Ireland wouldn’t exactly have been favourites in the rugby betting on this game in the circumstances.
CJ Stander saw red and Henshaw spent the last 10 minutes before half-time in the Newlands sin bin to makes things even worse. Yet Ireland somehow recorded a famous 26-20 victory. Although they would go on to lose the series, this really was a standout display against a side that would go on to be Rugby World Cup winners.
Ireland 40-29 New Zealand
Irish sides had been trying to beat the mighty All Blacks for over a century. There was the famous draw of 1973, but they knew nothing but defeat from the rest of rugby history. That all changed when Ireland, coached by Schmidt, stepped into Soldier Field across the Atlantic in Chicago for a 2016 Autumn International.
Three first-half tries shocked New Zealand as the Irish came from behind for a memorable 40-29 win over the dominant side in world rugby. Ireland would go on to record a first-ever home win over the All Blacks two years later in a 16-9 success also masterminded by Schmidt – the Kiwi coach who inflicted not one but two defeats on his native New Zealand.
The Grand Slam
All great Irish teams win the Grand Slam. Schmidt guided his side to that accolade in 2018, taking on and beating all-comers among Europe’s elite tier 1 nations. They edged past France, then dismantled Italy, had Wales beaten by tries either side of half-time, proved too strong for Scotland and ripped the Six Nations crown from previous holders England with three first-half crossings at Twickenham.
