Finding yourself on YouTube is a dangerous thing. One amazing video can lead to another that can lead to another. Hours go by in the blink of a quality video. Take for example, Leinster's victory over Saracens in 2011. This was Joe Schmidt's Leinster doing exactly what was asked of them, and with the highest of skill. That team would go on to conquer Leicester and Toulouse; before that amazing comeback in the final against Northampton.
And they did it playing an extremely entertaining brand of rugby. The moniker "Leinstertainment" was never more apt. Leinster were credited with 14 offloads as they ripped through Saracens scoring six tries.
A lot of the same players that worked under Schmidt then are in Schmidt's Ireland squad. Yet, Schmidt chooses to play a much more conservative gameplan with similarly efficient results.
There are two simple reasons for this:
- International teams are better than those who Leinster tore past under Schmidt.
- Schmidt doesn't have enough time in International camp to communicate everything he needs to his players.
Leinster under Schmidt were able to focus solely on handling and passing drills in a pre season without Schmidt worrying about a gameplan communication that can come later. With Ireland, Schmidt only has limited time in camp and chooses to get the most out of his team. And my how it works. The ten match streak speaks for itself, and Schmidt has only lost three games in his 16 games in charge.
But there is a glimmer of hope for the future.
The World Cup in September will provide Schmidt with a pre-season lead-in that will be uninterrupted by provincial games. Schmidt will finally have the six weeks of time with his players that will allow them to incorporate offloads, and the required support lines that mean mistakes are kept to a minimum. There's no point offloading to no one, but Schmidt will have his players knowing their roles inside out, and players will know pre-tackle whether an offload is on or not.
For now Ireland rule the skies, but come the World Cup, and when things get tough later on in the tournament, that time spent together in training are going to ensure that Ireland will have extra dimensions in their arsenal that the likes of France will not be able to cope with.
