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Video: Schmidt gives strongest indication yet as to where his Ireland future lies
By Nathaniel Cope
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has given the strongest hint about where his future lies beyond the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Speaking in the aftermath of Ireland's 57-14 win over the USA, where his side scored eight points, I asked whether he was any clearer on his future.
"We're not any clearer, just incredibly lucky to have the IRFU with the patience they have. I committed to a certain timeframe with them and I've stuck to that.
"I've given them an indication and I just need to talk to people tomorrow and early next week, it will be made public. It might be frustrating for you guys but it's really wrecking my head. I want it to be one or the other really."
But when asked by RugbyPass to clarify whether IRFU know his decision, Schmidt responded: "A little bit, yeah. And they've said, 'Don't be rash, if you change your mind, we'd love to continue that conversation, or if you change your mind we don't need to have a conversation, or if we just continue as we are, that's great.'
"They've set out five different scenarios just in case we can sort something out without too much drama."
It now looks increasingly likely that Schmidt will walk away, with a formal decision expected on Monday.
Schmidt has led Ireland to unprecedented success since he took over five years ago, winning the Six Nations three times, including the Grand Slam in 2018. Ireland also secured a series success Down Under over the Wallabies for the first time since 1979.
They're now ranked number two in the World Rugby rankings and beat the All Blacks 16-9 last weekend. It was his second success over New Zealand, following their historic 40-29 victory in Chicago in 2016.
Their win over the USA completed a clean sweep of victories during November, with success over Italy and Argentina too.
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Latest Comments
You'd swear they didn't win 28-7 away from home....
Go to commentsMcKenzie is better than Barrett , but not better than Richie Mo'unga. Richie regularly outplayed DMac in Super Rugby. , as he did in the 2023 Final in Hamilton. I remember the 2021 Aotearoa Super Rugby Final here in CHCH. Mo'unga took him to the cleaners. McKenzie is a fine footballer , but at best a hybrid 10 . Fergus Burke , ( now playing in England ), who made a big difference when he came back late in the Crusaders season , is a better 10 than DMac. I also think 140 game + Crusader Matt Todd was always a better no 7 than Sam Cane.A big part of 3 title winning teams when South African teams were still in the comp. How many titles did the Chiefs win in that period of time?
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