Tag Archives: Joe Schmidt

Toulouse lifting the Top 14 title on Saturday signalled the end of the northern hemisphere club season but the lengthy nature of the French campaign aside, many of Europe’s elite players will be getting back to work soon.  Today, Ireland have reconvened at their Carton House base as they begin their preparations for their World Cup opener against Scotland on …

It’s relatively quiet in the northern hemisphere with international players taking a well-deserved break after a gruelling 2018/19 season.  However, although many players are currently enjoying some sun on their backs, it won’t be long until the serious work starts again as preparations begin for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Warm-up games will take place in August and …

Irish head coach Joe Schmidt has named a 44-man training squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup pre-season and preparatory camps which commence in mid-June. The squad includes two uncapped players, Mike Haley and Jean Kleyn, while Leinster duo Sean O’Brien and Dan Leavy are left out due to injury. Ireland are set to hold camps in both Limerick and …

Saracens have won the Heineken Champions Cup trophy for the third time in their history after dethroning Leinster at St. James Park this afternoon.  It’s the third time in four seasons that the English club have lifted European club rugby’s top prize and Irishman, Mark McCall, has been an ever-present in all three of those victories. The Saracens director of …

Leinster’s Sean Cronin admitted to being disappointed following his axing from Joe Schmidt’s squad for the final two Six Nations games but the hooker is adamant that he is still in the New Zealander’s plans going forward. Speaking to the media ahead of Leinster’s crunch Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse on Sunday, Cronin expressed his disappointment at being dropped but …

Wales and Ireland have named their teams for the Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam deciding game in the Principality Stadium on Saturday.  Liam Williams has been passed fit to play as Warren Gatland named an unchanged side from that which beat Scotland in Murrayfield last weekend. Captain Alun Wyn Jones will equal Welshman Gethin Jenkins’ total test appearance record as …

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has said that he would like to see the Principality Stadium’s roof remain open when his side take on Wales on Saturday.  Generally, the decision on whether the roof remains open or closed rests with the visiting team. However, Schmidt revealed at this afternoon’s team announcement at their base in Carton House that Wales have …

Joe Schmidt has named his Ireland team which will take on Wales in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon. Ireland are still within a chance of retaining their Six Nations crown but they will need to overcome a motivated Wales side who will be aiming for a first Grand Slam since 2012 and a first championship title since 2013. Ireland will also …

Former Welsh prop Adam Jones gave a fascinating insight into how intense an Irish training session under Joe Schmidt can be after the 34-year old experienced it with Harlequins in 2015. Jones spent over a decade as one of the key members of a strong Welsh side which won three Six Nations Grand Slam titles but retired from the international …

Ireland tighthead prop, John Ryan, is hoping to be involved for Ireland’s crunch Six Nations game against Wales this weekend in Cardiff but admits you never know how Joe Schmidt is thinking. “I suppose I can’t speak for Joe, he keeps his cards close enough to his chest, he won’t tell what you are going to expect because if you …

Irish head coach Joe Schmidt was full of praise for fullback Jordan Larmour following his late inclusion in the starting XV during their 26-14 victory over France on Sunday. Back at the Aviva, Schmidt’s side looked much improved from their lacklustre victory over Italy two weeks ago in Rome as they swept the French aside with a bonus point win. …

Sean McMahon reporting from the Aviva Stadium Ireland will be keen to quickly move on from their bonus-point victory over France as they must immediately prepare for next weekend’s trip to Wales which is made all that more difficult considering Ireland’s six-day turnaround.  Ireland’s week, will, in Joe Schmidt’s’s words, be “truncated” and that will pose it’s own challenges as …

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has named his team to take on France in the penultimate round of the 2019 Guinness Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.  Schmidt has made a number of changes to the side which secured a bonus point victory over Italy two weeks ago. In the front row, there are two changes as Cian Healy …

Joe Schmidt offered an injury update on some of Ireland’s key players when he spoke to the media this afternoon at an open training session at Queen’s University, Belfast.  The Ireland head coach is confident that Johnny Sexton will be fit for next weekend’s clash against France at the Aviva Stadium. Joey Carbery is also in contention which dampens reports …

With Ireland less than 24 hours away from kick-off in their clash with Italy, there will be a few players who may not sleep too well tonight.  The team that Joe Schmidt has named contains four changes to the starting XV which beat Scotland at Murrayfield two weeks ago and there are further changes among the replacements. A number of …

The Ireland team which Joe Schmidt named to face Italy contains four changes to the starting XV which lined out against Scotland at Murrayfield last time out.  There are also a number of new faces on the bench as Schmidt’s selection was a result of injuries to a number of key players and also the intention to provide an opportunity …

Joe Schmidt has named his Ireland team to take on Italy in Rome in the Guinness Six Nations on Sunday.  The Ireland head coach has made four changes to the starting XV which beat Scotland at Murrayfield two weeks ago. In the front row, there are first Six Nations starts for Dave Kilcoyne and Sean Cronin while Tadhg Furlong continues …

Bundee Aki has credited Joe Schmidt for facilitating the ease at which players can come in and out of the team without causing any disruption to performances.  Ever since Aki made his Ireland debut in November 2017, he has been a mainstay of Schmidt’s midfield. That has somewhat been influenced by injuries to other players but it has also shown …