As soon as the half-time whistle rang out, let alone the shrill for full time, planning began for the 2019 World Cup.
On Sunday, in Cardiff, Joe Schmidt looked like a man who’s car broke down the day after the warranty ran out.
While the Ireland coach was all animation and barely bottled fury during the win over France, Sunday’s camera flashes found a man quietly seething. His best laid plans had seen their foundations quaked, by injuries, before Argentina blew them to smithereens.
He set out a game-plan for his team that was conservative in its nature. Wait and see rugby.
Argentina were waiting for nobody. They tore into Ireland from the start and never gave them a moment to settle. Argentina’s players won just about every collision that mattered in the first half.
One of the areas of Ireland’s game that has most improved, in his two years in charge, have been the fact they they do the basics so well. Not quite as well as the All Blacks but enough to win them two Six Nations titles and take both Wallabies and Springbok scalps.
Unforced errors were dramatically cut down.
This is why Schmidt will have fumed about Ian Madigan kicking a clearance out on the full, more so than his missed penalty. Conor Murray’s fumble at the back of the scrum?
The Munster man is lucky that this game will not now be forensically reviewed until the squad’s December get-together.
The one positive for Irish supporters to take from Ireland’s earlier than planned exit from the tournament is that it should ensure Schmidt being Ireland’s coach by the time World Cup 2019 rolls around. Word from the camp, before Ireland left for home, was that Schmidt would not like to leave his post with “unfinished business”.
In July, Schmidt and the IRFU had discussed the possibility of a contract until 2019 before his one-year extension was announced.
SportsJOE understands that Schmidt is open to staying further but it was happier to take another visit to the union’s long table at a later date. His demand would only diminish by tying himself to a longer deal.
There is also no desire to hitch his trailer to the English Rugby Football Union.
At present, Schmidt and Warren Gatland are the favourites to leads the British & Irish Lions in 2017. Schmidt’s Ireland contract expires just before that tour but the union would not stand in his way were he to seek a job share of sorts.
The Welsh Rugby Union granted Gatland leave for the 2013 Lions Tour to Australia. He coached Wales in their November 2012 internationals before Rob Howley took over as caretaker boss.
Ireland have lost defence coach Les Kiss to Ulster but Simon Easterby would certainly be a reliable candidate to mind the shop while Schmidt plots to take down his native New Zealand.
However, given Ireland’s quarter final exit, Schmidt has lost another one-upmanship opportunity where Gatland is concerned. Final auditions for that role will now be the 2016 Six Nations and that summer’s tour [Wales to New Zealand, Ireland to South Africa].
The manner of Ireland’s loss to Argentina will rankle with Schmidt.
Irish supporters expecting a drastic change to Schmidt’s tactics may be disappointed. Winning comes first to the Kiwi and he will, once again, do what needs to be done.
Expect CJ Stander to be called into the Irish squad – after seven years, a genuine contender for Jamie Heaslip’s No.8 jersey. Marty Moore will come back in as tighthead but the midfield combination will the most interesting to watch.
If Schmidt does plan on sticking around until 2019, expect to see the winds of gradual change fluttering on the tour to South Africa with further gusts when the Southern Hemisphere sends battle-weary squads next November.
