Praise doesn’t get much better than this.
Joe Schmidt’s tenure as Ireland head-coach over the past number of years has been pretty exceptional.
Having lead Ireland to two successive Six Nations titles in 2014 and 2015 before masterminding victories over the big three southern hemisphere nations in 2016, it is safe to say the Kiwi has secured a significant level of success for the national side.
Of course, there have been some disappointing moments in his career with Ireland, most notably the six month period which included Ireland’s World Cup campaign and the 2016 Six Nations but when you look at how he has transformed Ireland into one of the world’s best sides in such a short period of time, you can’t help but be impressed.
Hopes are high going into this year’s Six Nations and Schmidt will have to deal, like so many times before, with the elevated expectations from the Irish rugby public.
Regardless of the outcome of this year’s tournament, the 51-year-old will go down as one of Ireland’s most successful coaches and this has not gone unnoticed, with Schmidt receiving praise from one of his fellow countrymen, World Cup winning coach Graham Henry.
“I spent some time at Leinster in August and Joe and I had crossed swords a few times, we know each other reasonably well.
“The Irish boys just think he’s fabulous. They just think so highly of him,” Henry told ESPN.
Of course, Henry was employed by Leinster last summer as a consultant for the province to help in preparations for the new season and according to the players and management, he had a very good impact.
Although Henry and Schmidt have never worked directly together, the 2011 World Cup winning coach is a firm believer in Schmidt’s methods and reveals that he thinks his fellow Kiwi is a “very special coach.”
“He’s into detail, he’s very good at coaching the detail and the players have a huge amount of respect for him and play for him. I think he’s very special. He’s a very special coach.”Â
Excellent praise from one the best minds in the game.
Knowing Schmidt’s personality you can expect him to take these compliments in his stride but if he can mastermind another successful Six Nations he may yet have to deal with a lot more praise.
