Former Ireland winger Andrew Trimble has said that assistant coach Andy Farrell is a lot more of a laidback coach in comparison to head coach Joe Schmidt.
The IRFU announced on Monday that Joe Schmidt would be stepping down after next year’s Rugby World Cup to prioritise family commitments and that Farrell will become Ireland head coach following the tournament.
Trimble has said the former England international differs in approach to Schmidt but works very well with Schmidt.
“The balance of the two of them works really well together,” said Trimble on the latest episode of House of Rugby.
“He’s probably a little bit more laidback where Joe just wouldn’t really switch off from rugby. He’d always be thinking about rugby, that’s why he’s so thorough. Farrell sort of balances that, so too does Simon Easterby as well to be fair, the three of them work well together but with Farrell I’m not sure if he’s had any other coaching role apart from defence.”
The IRFU said last month that they aimed to win two Six Nations titles, two European titles and qualify for at least two World Cup semi-finals over the next five years as they attempt to build on their historic 2018 season.
IRFU CEO Philip Browne said then that he was confident that the national team could still achieve their goals without Joe Schmidt and he reiterated that belief on Monday.
“We are delighted to have secured Andy as incoming head coach,” said Browne.
“As part of Joe’s management team Andy has already helped to deliver huge performances and I know he will continue to inspire our players for years to come.
“Andy has world class coaching credentials and we are pleased to have a road-map for an orderly transition post Rugby World Cup to the 2019 Six Nations.”
Schmidt said that he will finish coaching after the Rugby World Cup in 2019 to prioritise family commitments but Trimble added that he finds it hard to imagine the New Zealander not transferring his leadership skills to another industry
“It will be interesting to see if Joe just stops working,” added Trimble.
“I would be really interested to see what he gets into. Even if he just takes a year or two off eventually his style of leadership and management obviously works very well in a rugby context but I think it could work in any context. Any kind of business context.
“You could imagine he’d be getting offers left, right and centre for that style, that really detailed and pragmatic style to executing and delivering in sport, be it business, be it anything. He could do what he wants that fella.”
