Joe Schmidt has reaffirmed his commitment to Ireland – and set his sights on winning his third RBS 6 Nations in a row in 2016.
Ireland bowed out of the Rugby World Cup at the quarter-final stage last Sunday as injuries took their toll against an impressive Argentina side in a 43-20 defeat. But it is hardly a blot on Schmidt’s CV, as he has breathed new life into Ireland since his appointment in 2013. Indeed it would be of no surprise if the Kiwi coach attracted attention from other nations, but Schmidt says his focus remains solely on the men in green. “I’m absolutely committed to the group of young men who I work with,” Schmidt told The Late Late Show in Ireland. “They are such a good group, I can’t wait to get started post Christmas, looking towards the RBS 6 Nations. We’re going forward as best we can and I’m certainly not going anywhere. “We lost to a really good, physical Argentinian side probably without a few guys that we think could have made a difference for us, particularly just to keep the calm and keep the confidence of the players up.” Two of Schmidt’s absentees were captain Paul O’Connell – whose international career was brought to a close after sustaining a hamstring injury against France – and fly-half Jonathan Sexton. “One of the regrets I probably have now is Sexton’s fitness was declared early in the week on the Wednesday. He trained on the Friday,” added Schmidt. “For Ian Madigan to come in, he really had a small window of about 25 minutes to really prepare himself for the Test. It is not a great window to prepare. “We felt that [Sexton] was going to be OK and he trained OK. But we knew it was too much of a risk to put him out there.” Click here to see the 2016 RBS 6 Nations fixtures
